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PENTIUM  POWER  YOU  CAN  AFFORD! 


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MARCH  1994 


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►COMDEX  SPECIAL! 

35HOTNEWAPPS 
►POWER  PRESENTATIONS 
13  TOP  PROGRAMS 
►REFERENCE  CD-ROMs! 
10  SUPER  TITLES         A 


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WINDOWS  PROGRAMMING  GUIDE 
1994  GAME  PREVIEW 
LEARN  A  LANGUAGE  ON  YOUR  PC 
NEW  ZOOMER  PDAs 


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SURROUNDED  BY  ANTI-AIRCRAFT. 
HUNTED  BY  SAMS.  EVEN  MACH  2  ISN'T 
EAST  ENDUGH.  IT'S  A  STOBY  CAPTAIN 


LIVE  TO  TELL.  WOULD  YOU? 


• 


A  TRUE  STORY 

Kuwait,  May  23,  1991.  Captain 

Dean  "D-Dawg"  Pennington  dives 

mk    to  take  out  an  Iraqi  85mm  gun 

jlV    emplacement  below.  "Flares,  break 

Hi     left!"  his  wingman  screams.  He 

^L  wrenches  the  stick  just  as  a  SAM 

P^^  explodes  10  feet  behind  his  F-16, 

Anti-aircraft  batteries  now  open  up 

all  around,  engulfing  him.  Too  low  to 

avoid  the  anti-aircraft,  too  slow  to 

evade  another  SAM,  he's  faced  with 

a  hopeless  choice  and  less  than  a 

quarter  of  a  second  to  make  it. 

Lighting  afterburners,  he  rockets  to 

safety  before  they  can  lock  on  again. 

THE  STANDARD  BY 

WHICH  OTHER  FIGHTERS 

ARE  JUDGED 

Captain  Pennington  survived 
on  skill,  nerve  and  the  awesome 


i 


•  •. 


VAZ 


• 


capabilities  of  the  F-16  Fighting 
Falcon.  Nothing  aside  from  a  true 
F-16,  captures  the  "hair-on-fire"  feel- 
ing of  flying  America's  most  deadly 
fighter  like  Falcon®  3.0,  Spectrum 
HoloByte's  computer  simulation. 


FAIjCON 


3D 


Spectrum  HotoByts 


A  HIGHER  LEVEL  OF  FLIGHT 
Unlike  some  sims,  which  more 
closely  simulate  the  arcade  expe- 
rience than  the  flying  one,  Falcon 
3.0  features  a  depth  of  play 
that  almost  rivals  real 


With  Falcon 
3.0,  up  to  six 
players  can 
go  marto  a 
mano.  May  the 
best  man  win. 


SPECTRUM 


HOLOBYTE 


life.  Like  real  pilots,  you'll  fly 
with  a  wingman,  allowing  you 
to  engage  in 
aerial  tactics 
like  bracket 
maneuvers. 
Instead  of  enemies  who  fly  in 
circles,  Falcon  3.0  adversaries  fly 
according  to  true  fighter  doctrine 
so  they're  no  pushovers.  And 
Kuwait  looks  like  Kuwait  since 
real  geographic  theaters  are 
faithfully  mapped. 

NOT  JUST  A  SIMULATION 

OF  A  WARPLANE 
A  SIMULATION  OF  WAR 

Falcon  3.0  lets  you  fight  as  part 
of  an  entire  campaign.  The  mis- 
sions you  fly  play  a  crucial  role  in 
your  side's  success.  But  they're  not 
hard-wired.  Each  result  affects  the 
overall  war  effort— and  determines 
your  next  mission.    ^     Succeed 


For  Visa/MasterCard  orders  call  24  hours  a  day,  7  days  a  week:  (800)  695-GAME. 
For  technical  questions  call  (510)  522-1164  (M-F:  9AM-5PM  Pacific  Time). 


and  go  on  to  hit  the  enemy  in  his 
own  backyard.  Fail  and  find  the  bad 
guys  breathing  down  your  neck. 


FALCON  3.0  US.  MlG-29 


-29 


FALCX  N! 


Electronic  Battlefield  Sei-ies  simulations  link  up. 

So  you  don't  just  choose  your  mission,  you  choose  your 

aircraft.  Care  t-oflyfor  the  other  side,  comrade? 

THE  ELECTRONIC 
BATTLEFIELD  SERIES: 

THE  ULTIMATE 

CYBER-BATTLEFIELD 

Choose  from  multiple  aircraft, 

multiple  theaters,  even  which 

side  of  the  conflict  to  fight  on. 


Go  head-to-head  over  a  modem  or 
with  up  to  six  players  over  a  net- 
work. It's  possible  because  each 
Electronic  Battlefield  Series 
title  works  with  the  others,  from 
MiG-29™  to  the  upcoming  F/A-18 
simulation.  There's  even  a  multi- 


media guide  to  air-to-air  combat 
called  Art  of  the  Kill™  to  help  you 
fly  like  an  ace.  It  all  starts  with 
Falcon  3.0. 

The  simulation  for  people  who 
want  to  fly  the  not-so-friendly 
skies. 


Spectrum  HofoByte 


AKT*KHJV 


ELECTRONIC  BATTLEFIELD  SERIES 

The  fiilt  of  yiir  lift. 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  201 


COMPUTE 


VOLUME  16,  NO.  3,  ISSUE  162 


MARCH  1994 


FEATURES 

20 

TEST  LAB 

Edited  by  Mike  Hudnall 

Create  dynamite 

presentations  with  these  13 

Windows  presentation 

packages. 

52 

WINDOWS  PROGRAMMING: 
FROM  C  TO  SHINING  C++ 

By  Clifton  Karnes 
Don't  panic!  You  can  learn  to 
program  in  Windows.  Here's 

how  to  qet  started. 

63 

COMPUTE'S  GETTING  STARTED 
WITH™  PERSONAL  NETWORKING 

By  Anne  Fischer  Lent 

How  to  make  network 

connections  at  your  office 

and  home. 

86 

PRODUCTIVITY  CHOICE 

By  Denny  Atkin 

and  Mike  Hudnall 

The  Evolution  V/60  from 

Advanced  Logic  Research. 

COLUMNS 

4 
EDITORIAL  LICENSE 

By  Clifton  Karnes 

Why  objects  are  important. 

8 

WINDOWS  WORKSHOP 

By  Clifton  Karnes 

Two  programs  that  promise 

to  speed  up  Windows. 

10 

FEEDBACK 

Answers  to  tough  questions. 

18 

INTRODOS 

By  Tony  Roberts 

The  best  features  of 

DOS  6.2. 

38 

PROGRAMMING  POWER 

By  Tom  Campbell 

Taming  the  YACC  beast. 


Cover  photo  by  Mark  Wagoner  of  Compaq  Presario  running 
Windows  wallpaper  from  Second  Nature. 


40 

TIPS  &  TOOLS 

Edited  by 
Richard  C.  Leinecker 
Tips  from  our  readers. 


HARDWARE  CLINIC 

By  Mark  Minasi 
More  on  SCSI. 

88 

ART  WORKS 

By  Robert  Bixby 

DTP  troubles:  how  to  use  a 

font  that  you  don't  have. 

144 

NEWS  &  NOTES 

By  Jill  Champion  Booth 

Top  computer  news. 


MULTIMEDIA  PC 
73 

FAST  FORWARD 

By  David  English 

COMDEX  hosted  the 

biggest  multimedia  show 

ever. 

74 

TOP  TEN  CD-ROM  REFERENCE 
TITLES 

By  Richard  O.  Mann 

Here's  an  expert's  guide  to 

building  your  own  library. 

SO 

NEW  MULTIMEDIA  PRODUCTS 

Edited  by  Polly  Cillpam 

Hot  new  hardware,  cool  new 

software. 


MULTIMEDIA  SPOTLIGHT 

By  Carol  Ellison 

Three  products  from 

Sanctuary  Woods. 

ENTERTAINMENT 
90 

DISCOVERY  CHOICE 

By  David  Gerding 

MECC's  DinoPark  Tycoon. 

92 

GAME  INSIDER 

By  Shay  Addams 
New  games  on  the  way. 

94 

ENTERTAINMENT  CHOKE 

By  Scott  A.  May 
Papyrus's  IndyCar  Racing. 

96 

GAMEPLAY 

By  Denny  Atkin 
A  first  look  at  SimCity  2000. 

98 

ELECTRONIC  ESPERANTO 

By  Anthony  Moses 

Learn  a  foreign  language  on 

your  PC. 

REVIEWS 
104 

Casio  Z-7000,  Tandy  Z-PDA, 

ClarisWorks  for  Windows, 

Tornado, 

Designer  4.0, 

Gulliver, 

Return  of  the  Phantom, 

The  Amazon  Trail, 

Third  Dimension, 

Xerox  4004, 

Q&A  4.0  for  Windows, 

Doodle-mation, 

1000  of  the  World's  Greatest 

Sound  Effects, 
Microsoft  Arcade,  and  more. 

ADVERTISERS'  INDEX 

See  page  129. 

TREASURE  HUNT 

See  page  46. 


COMPUTE  (ISSN  0194-357X)  is  published  monthly  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  by  COMPUTE  Publications  International  Ltd.,  1965  Broadway,  New  York,  NY  10023-5965.  Volume  16, 
Number  3,  Issue  162.  Copyright  ©  1994  by  COMPUTE  Publications  International  Ltd.  All  rights  reserved.  COMPUTE  is  a  registered  trademark  of  COMPUTE  Publications  International  Ltd. 
Distributed  worldwide  (except  Australia  and  the  UK)  by  Curtis  Circulation  Company,  P0.  Box  9102,  Pennsauken,  NJ  08109.  Distributed  in  Australia  by  The  Horwitz  Group,  P.O.  Box  306, 
Cammeray  NSW  2062  Australia  and  in  the  UK  by  Northern  and  Shell  Pic,  P.O.  Box  381,  Millharbour,  London  E14  9TW  Second-class  postage  paid  at  New  York,  NY,  and  at  additional  mailing 
offices.  POSTMASTER:  Send  address  changes  to  COMPUTE  Magazine,  P.O.  Box  3245,  Harlan,  IA  51537-3041,  Tel.  (800)  727-6937.  Entire  contents  copyrighted.  All  rights  reserved. 
Nothing  may  be  reproduced  in  whole  or  in  part  without  written  permission  from  the  publisher.  Subscriptions:  US,  AFO  -  $19.94  one  year;  Canada  -  $32.04  one  year;  Foreign  -  $29,94  one 
year.  Single  copies  $2.95  in  US.  The  publisher  disclaims  all  responsibility  to  return  unsolicited  matter,  and  all  rights  in  portions  published  thereof  remain  the  sole  property  of  COMPUTE 
Publications  International  Ltd.  Letters  sent  to  COMPUTE  or  its  editors  become  the  property  of  the  magazine.  Editorial  offices  are  located  at  324  W.  Wendover  Ave.,  Ste.  200,  Greensboro, 
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Printed  in  the  USA  by  R.  R.  Donnelley  &  Sons  Inc. 
2        COMPUTE    MARCH  1994 


#R 1266074 15 


PRESENTING 

THE  COMPLETE 

PC  MULTIMEDIA 

SOLUTION 


Whether  it's  business,  education,  Photo  CD,  video  capture  or 
just  plain  fun,  the  world  of  PC  multimedia  is  exploding. 
And  you  can  count  on  Creative  Labs  to  deliver  the  multimedia 
solution  that's  just  right  for  you. 

ALL  THE  RIGHT  HARDWARE, 
ALL  THE  RIGHT  SOFTWARE... 

It  starts  with  our  award-winning  technology.  Like  the 
industry-standard  Sound  Blaster™ family  of  audio  cards- 
the  16-bit  sound  standard.  And  Creative  Double  Speed 
Technology"  CD-ROM  drives-  And  state-of-the-art  video 
capture  and  playback. 

Plus,  every  Creative  Labs  product  comes  packed  with 


best-selling  software,  from  the  latest  hot  games  to  reference 
applications  and  no-nonsense  authoring  and  editing  tools. 

ALL  AT  THE  RIGHT  PRICE. 

Day  after  day  more  PC  owners  choose  Creative  Labs 
multimedia  products  over  any  other.  With  our  technological 
innovation,  software  compatibility,  easy  installation  and 
bottom-line  value,  ifs  no  wonder  we're  the  complete  PC 
multimedia  solution.  Not  to  mention  the  best-selling  multi- 
media hardware  line  of  all  time. 


H.llliM 


CREATIVE 


CREATIVE     LABS, INC. 


ePHTSST '  U.S.  Inquiries;  Creative  Labs:  TEL  1  -    27  ur  J: S^eW^'i  International  Inquiries: Creative TixhHtt-.y  Ltd., S^apOTC,  ILL  6>77  od  BlaMi-r, Sound  Bbsiir Discover)" CD, 

W£M^M£A  S,mnd  R'.Hl  r  E  Jul  Jinim-nt  CD,  'mi  nd  Ifek-r  Di|;i(  jIL  J^i:  CD,  Creative  Om  n  iC  D,  Vi  d  Lv  V,b  s  U.  r.  W-ivr  B'a  <■  !e  r.  i.'nv  I  ive  V\  ■  :a\\  s^l,  Cr^ti\  v  Double-Speed  Tech  r. :      v  at  <  d  the  Sound  U 1  ,;s  te  r  ar.  J  Creative 

vt    .  *     Multimedia  PC  !l-'ol*  Jre  lr.tderrur>^  ot  Creative  litlir.n'.'.'y  Ltd.  ViJu^pi^o!  is  a  R^-tnvd  rradimark  e,f  .buprMac  Ted         ;;,,  hi:.  All  other  Irade.Tirks  art  the  property  of  I  heir  r  -.pectivc  holdery  W  Copyright  r998 

f"*™1  CreatTwJochn;       >*  Ltd.  All  r^hts  r-      veJ. 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  125 


Editor 

Art  Director 

Managing  Editor 

Features  Editor 

Reviews  Editor 

Gazette  Editor 

Entertainment  Editor 

Senior  Copy  Editor 

Copy  Editor 

Editorial  Assistant 

Contributing  Editors 

Interns 


Clifton  Karnes 

Robin  Case-Mykytyn 

David  English 

Robert  BixDy 

Mike  Hudra;! 

Tom  Netsel 

Denny  Atkin 

Karen  Huffman 

Margaret  Ramsey 

Polly  Cillpam 

Sylvia  Graham,  Tony  Roberts, 

Karen  S'epak 

Chuck  Hall,  Robert  Stone 


ART 
Assistant  Art  Director     Kenneth  A.  Hardy 
Designer    Katie  'viurdcck 
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PRODUCTION 
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Traffic  Manager    Barbara  A.  Williams 

PROGRAMMING  &  ONLINE  SERVICES 
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Bradley  M.  Small 

ADMINISTRATION 


President,  COO 

Executive  Vice  President, 

Operations 

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Operations  Manager 

Office  Manager 

Sr.  Administrative  Assistant 

Administrative  Assistant 

Receptionist 


Kaihy  Keeton 
William  Tynan 

Keith  Ferrell 
David  Hensley  Jr. 
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LeWanda  Fox 


ADVERTISING 

Vice  President,     Peter  T  Johnsmeyer 
Associate  Publisher    {212)496-6100 

ADVERTISING  SALES  OFFICES 

East  Coast-  Fu"-:'2ge  and  Standard  D:splay  Ads— Peter  T  Jonris- 
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THE  CORPORATION 

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ADMINISTRATION 
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GallO;  0>r.  $u!  C.rc       tinr 

(  of  Research-  RoCert  Ra^nen  Aovty- 

rle^e  S™       T-  "  :  Ur  ■  VI  nam  H  .r- 

T  .   :.la  y;  Proc  ic      i  Mqt  ■  T    ,, 

\' .      .•  "'    •  '.'  •■       !    nat    nal  D.v 

.  and  Markeling:  Glenn  Smith.  Nalor- 

,1.  2        E>   „.  Ass'  to  Poo  GucciDne. 

o  va   ,...    _  Ho     .y.i 


EDITORIAL  LICENSE 


Clifton  Karnes 


Objects  are  in  your  future. 
They're  here  now  in  OLE  1.0 
and  2.0,  and  you'll  be  seeing  a 
lot  more  of  them  in  future  ver- 
sions of  Windows  and  Windows  appli- 
cations. If  you  want  to  get  a  jump  on 
the  twenty-first  century,  now's  the 
time  to  get  started  with  some  object 
basics. 

Here's  the  problem.  Although  ob- 
jects are  supposed  to  make  comput- 
ing easier,  they're  difficult  to  under- 
stand intellectually.  This  point  was 
driven  home  recently  while  I  was  writ- 
ing the  feature  "Windows  Program- 
ming: From  C  to  Shining  C  +  +  ," 
which  appears  in  this  issue.  One  of 
the  goals  of  this  feature  is  to  give  Win- 
dows programmers  a  road  map  to 
learning  object-oriented  program- 
ming, and  in  explaining  object-orient- 
ed programming,  I  discovered  just 
how  hard  objects  are  to  define.  This 
started  me  thinking  about  objects  in 
general  and  what  objects  mean  to  us- 
ers. Are  they  good  or  bad?  Are  they 
confusing  or  intuitive? 

First,  an  object  can  be  anything  in 
an  interface,  including  many  things 
you  wouldn't  suspect.  If  you  take  Win- 
dows, for  example,  the  icons  in  Pro- 
gram Manager  are  objects,  the  file- 
names in  File  Manager  are  objects, 
and  the  buttons  in  an  application 
such  as  Word  for  Windows  6.0  are 
objects. 

What  really  makes  an  object  an  ob- 
ject, though,  is  its  ability  to  act  differ- 
ently (and  appropriately)  in  different 
contexts.  In  object  jargon,  this  ability 
is  called  polymorphism.  The  simplest 
example  of  this  is  double-clicking  on 
an  object  to  activate  it.  When  we  do 
this,  we  change  the  object's  context 
by  putting  the  mouse  pointer  over  it 
and  double-clicking  a  mouse  button. 
As  most  of  you  know,  if  you  double- 
click on  an  icon  in  Program  Manager, 
you  run  the  program  it  represents. 
And  if  you  double-click  on  a  filename 
in  File  Manager,  you  likewise  run  the 
program.  You  can  also  Alt-double- 
click on  an  icon  in  Program  Manager 
or  a  filename  in  File  Manager  to  in- 
spect the  object's  properties.  While 
Alt-double-clicking  isn't  exactly  intui- 
tive, it  does  represent  a  new  context 
for  the  object. 

Double-clicking  goes  beyond  just 


starting  programs.  You  can  also  dou- 
ble-click on  many  document  files  to 
load  the  documents  and  their  associ- 
ated applications,  and  you  can  dou- 
ble-click on  the  desktop  to  summon 
Task  Manager.  There's  another  exten- 
sion of  double-clicking  in  Word  for  Win- 
dows 6.0  that's  interesting.  If  you  dou- 
ble-click on  a  blank  spot  on  the 
toolbar,  you'll  get  a  toolbar  configura- 
tion dialog.  And  try  double-clicking 
on  any  window's  title  bar  (you'll  tog- 
gle between  the  window's  maximized 
and  restored  states). 

Another  way  to  change  an  object's 
context  is  to  drag  the  object  from  one 
place  to  another.  For  example,  you 
can  drag  an  icon  in  Program  Manag- 
er from  one  group  to  another  group 
to  move  the  icon  to  the  new  group.  If 
you  press  the  Ctrl  key  while  you  drag 


the  icon,  you'll  copy  the  icon  instead 
of  moving  it.  You  cannot,  however, 
drag  an  icon  from  Program  Manager 
to  the  Windows  desktop  and  have  it 
stick,  and  you  can't  drag  a  Program 
Manager  icon  to  File  Manager 
(though  you  can  drag  the  other  way, 
from  File  Manager  to  Program  Manag- 
er). Although  there's  a  lot  you  can  do 
with  objects  in  Windows,  there  are 
some  limits  to  the  object  orientation 
supported  in  version  3,1. 

So  are  objects  good  or  bad? 
They're  both.  For  a  new  user,  manip- 
ulating objects  may  not  be  intuitive, 
and  getting  the  hang  of  them  may  re- 
quire some  effort.  But  if  you  can  get 
a  grip  on  the  way  objects  work  and 
try  them  in  all  kinds  of  different  con- 
texts, you'll  find  that  working  with  ob- 
jects is  fast  and  easy.  □ 


COMPUTE    MARCH  1994 


Introducing  C  Set  ++  FirstStep  for  OS/2. 

Object 
oriented 


/>  /- 


applications 


Now  everything 
you  need  to  bej 
writing  C/C++  applications  is  at  your  fingertips  - 
and  well  within  your  budget.  C  Set  ++  FirstStep 
is  a  state-of-the-art,  C/C++  development 
environment.  It  includes:  #An  ANSI  standard 
conforming  compiler  for  C/C++  #A  visual  tool  lor 
debugging  #C++  Collection  Class  Libraries  *A 
comprehensive  Developer's  Toolkit  (Version  2.1) 
with  all  necessary  programming  tools,  and 
•WorkFrame/2:  which  provides  an 
integrating  environment  that 
increases  the  effectiveness  of  those  tools 
In  short,  with  C  Set  ++  FirstStep  for 
OS/2  from  IBM  Software  Solutions,  you  can 
launch  yourself  right  into  writing  high  quality 
object-oriented  applications. 


start 


Itll. 


Mm 


FirstStep  Technical  Features 


□  □ 


32-bit  C/C++  compiler. 


Visual  PM  Debugger. 


C++  Collection  Class  Libraries, 


Developer's  Too  I  Kit  new  V2.1 . 


WorkFrame/2  (supports  DOS,  Windows  and  OS/2  tools). 


Open  and  configurable  integration  framework. 


Seamless  integration  of  multiple  edit,  compile  &  debug  tools. 


To  order  C  Set  ++ 
FirstStep  for  OS/2,  or  for 
further  information  call 
1-800-342-6672 
(U.S.A.)  or 

Professional  d&veLopen  may  require  the  additional  features  of C  Set  ++  VZ  /,     1  -ft()0_zLfil^-7O/O/O/    pxt    670  (Canada) 

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and  full  support  and  service.  Or  contact  your  local  IBM  software  dealer. 


right 
here. 


IBM  and  OS/2  are  registered  trademarks  and  C  Set  ++  is  a  trademark  of  International  Business  Machines  Corporation. 
Windows  is  a  registered  trademark  of  Microsoft  Corporation. 
©1993  IBM  Corp. 


With  Compaq  learning  tools,  our  jree  24- 
hour,  7-day  hotline  and  3-year  warranty, 
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Introducing  the  all-in-one 
Compaq  Presario.  It's  much 
more  personal  than  other 
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point.  The  built-in  answering 
machine  actually  gives  every- 
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Sally's.  And  Dean's.  And  so 
on.  Plus,  there's  a  built-in  fax 
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Even  more  personal  is  the 
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It  Can  Answer 

It  Can  Even  Ans 


Hi.  Yo  u '  i  e  rea  ched  Sail  i 
and  Dean.  We  can 't  answer 
the  computer  right  now,  so 

leave  a  message  after  you 
hear  the  beep  ..." 


C  1 99  J  Compaq  Computer  Corporation.  All  rights  reserved .  Compaq  and  the  Compaq  logo  registered  U.S.  Patent  and  Trademark  Office.  Presario  and  Personal  Message  Centt 
warranty,  contact  die  Compaq  Customer  Support  Center.  The  Intel  logo  is  a  trademark  of  Intel  Corporation. 


Your  Questions, 
wer  Your  Phone. 


Save  lime  (and  money).  The  award-winning 
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needed  help  just  to  find  the 
Help  eommand?) 

Finally,  its  all-in-one  design 
not  only  saves  space  on  your 
desk,  it  makes  setting  up  the 
Presario  about  as  easy  as  plug- 
ging in  a  toaster.  And  it  comes 
with  six  software  programs- 
all  the  essentials-so  you  can 
get  started  right  away.  With 
Presario,  we  want  you  to  be 
able  to  do  everything  with 
your  computer.  Except  waste 
time  getting  started. 

For  more  information  on 
Presario,  or  for  a  nearby  lo- 
cation where  you  can  take  a 
closer  look,  just  give  us  a  call 
at  1-800-345-1518. 

COMPAQ 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  209 


ire  trademarks  of  Compaq  Computer  Corporation,  Product  names  mentioned  herein  may  be  trademark;,  of  their  respective  companies    For  luriher  details  on  our  limited 


WINDOWS  WORKSHOP 


Clifton  Karnes 


Drive  Rocket  can 

show  you  a 

chart  of  how  much 

of  a  speed 

increase  you  can 

expect  11  you 

install  the  product. 


IDE  SPEED-UP 

At  COMDEX,  the  promise  of 
more  hard  disk  speed  came 
from  two  companies  with  hard 
drive  accelerator  products.  On- 
track  Systems  was  showing 
Drive  Rocket  ($39,  800-752- 
1333),  and  Micro  House  was 
talking  about  Maximum  Over- 
drive (to  be  bundled  with  oth- 
er Micro  House  products,  303- 
443-3383). 

Both  of  these  programs  do 
basically  the  same  thing.  If 
you  have  a  compatible  IDE 
drive,  they  change  the  amount 
of  data  the  drive  reads  and 
writes  at  one  time  from  1  sec- 
tor (which  is  the  default)  to  2, 
4,  8, 16,  or  32  sectors.  Increas- 
es in  speed  can  be  dramatic, 
according  to  both  companies. 

I  tested  both  programs  on 
the  two  machines  I  use:  my 
home  system,  which  is  a  66- 
MHz  486DX2  with  local-bus 
graphics  and  hard  disk,  and 
my  work  system,  which  is  a  50- 
MHz  486DX2  with  ISA  graph- 
ics and  hard  disk.  Both  are  pret- 
ty fast  computers,  but  I'm  al- 
ways looking  for  more  speed, 
so  my  mouth  watered  when  I 
heard  about  these  products. 
As  soon  as  I  got  home  from 
COMDEX,  I  fired  up  Drive  Rock- 
et and  Maximum  Overdrive. 

Drive  Rocket  has  a  well-de- 
signed installation  program 
that  lets  you  perform  a  series 
of  benchmarks  to  gauge 
which  blocking  factor  you  use 
(the  number  of  disk  sectors 
you  read  at  a  time)  and  to 
help  you  get  an  idea  of  how 
much  of  a  speed  increase  you 
can  expect.  On  my  machine 
at  home,  the  installation  pro- 
gram told  me  to  use  a  block- 
ing factor  of  8  and  to  expect 
a  speed  increase  of  as  much 
as  101  percent.  Wow! 

I  installed  Drive  Rocket  and 
decided  to  test  it  under  Win- 
dows 3.1  by  running  a  suite  of 
Windows  programs.  Since 
most  of  the  disk  activity  in  Win- 
dows is  loading  applications 


and  documents,  I  ran  Word  for 
Windows  6.0,  loaded  three 
large  documents,  and  closed 
the  program;  I  ran  Excel  4.0, 
loaded  three  medium-sized 
spreadsheets,  and  closed  the 
program;  and  I  ran  Access 
1.1,  loaded  three  medium- 
sized  databases,  and  closed 
the  program. 

I  automated  this  test  by  cre- 
ating a  Recorder  macro  that 
did  all  the  timing,  running,  load- 
ing, and  closing.  For  timing,  I 
used  the  Timer  feature  in  As- 
cend to  act  as  an  automated 
stopwatch.  I  rebooted  my  com- 
puter before  each  test  so  the 


machine  would  be  in  an  iden- 
tical state  each  time,  and  I  op- 
timized my  hard  drive  before 
running  the  tests. 

First,  I  ran  the  suite  without 
Drive  Rocket,  and  it  took  one 
minute  and  1 2  seconds  to  com- 
plete.  Then  I  rebooted  with 
Drive  Rocket  set  to  its  recom- 
mended blocking  factor  of  8. 
With  Drive  Rocket,  the  suite 
took  one  minute  and  9  sec- 
onds. Hmmm.  Hardly  the 
speed  increase  I  was  hoping 
for.  I  decided  to  try  some  oth- 
er blocking  factors  to  see  if 
they  would  make  a  difference. 
As  it  turned  out,  8  produced 
the  fastest  results. 

I  ran  a  few  other  less  formal 
benchmarks  and  got  the 
same  results.  For  example,  I 
timed  my  machine  compiling 
a  C++  program  and  got  tim- 
ings that  were  nearly  the 
same  both  with  and  without 
Drive  Rocket.  Overall,  with 
Drive  Rocket,  my  home  sys- 
tem was  about  3-4  percent  fast- 
er. (Drive  Rocket  uses  3K  of 
RAM;  it  can  be  loaded  high.) 

Next,  I  installed  Maximum 
Overdrive.  Its  installation  pro- 


gram is  much  simpler  than 
Drive  Rocket's;  you  won't  find 
all  the  test  benchmarks,  for  ex- 
ample. But  I  did  have  one  prob- 
lem with  it.  It  found  the  refer- 
ence to  Drive  Rocket  in  my 
CONFIG.SYS,  not  realizing  I 
had  remarked  the  line  out.  It 
asked  me  if  it  could  remove 
the  entry  and  modify  my  CON- 
FIG.SYS. I  said  OK,  and  the 
program  erased  my  CON- 
FIG.SYS file.  Pretty  rude!  Luck- 
ily, I  had  made  a  copy  of  AU- 
TOEXEC.BAT and  CON- 
FIG.SYS before  I  installed  Max- 
imum Overdrive,  so  I  had  a 
backup  to  return  to. 

In  the  benchmarks,  Maxi- 
mum Overdrive,  which  uses  on- 
ly about  2K,  increased  perform- 
ance by  exactly  the  same  mar- 
gin as  Drive  Rocket  (as  you'd 
expect) — only  3-4  percent. 

My  home  system,  which  I 
used  for  these  first  tests,  has 
a  local-bus  hard  disk,  which  is 
a  32-bit  interface.  Because  of 
this,  it  doesn't  use  Windows 
FastDisk,  the  32-bit  device  driv- 
er. My  system  at  work  does 
use  FastDisk,  and  when  install- 
ing Drive  Rocket,  I  found  out 
that  both  it  and  Maximum  Over- 
drive  are  incompatible  with 
FastDisk.  Both  programs 
claim  they  outperform  Fast- 
Disk,  however.  So  I  disabled 
FastDisk  and  ran  my  bench- 
marks. With  Drive  Rocket  (and 
no  FastDisk)  the  suite  took  one 
minute  and  26  seconds  to  com- 
plete. With  no  Drive  Rocket 
(but  with  FastDisk),  the  suite 
took  one  minute  and  24  sec- 
onds. I  also  ran  the  same  com- 
piler benchmark  I'd  used  on 
my  home  system  and  got 
times  of  one  minute  and  43  sec- 
onds with  Drive  Rocket  and 
one  minute  and  35  seconds 
without  it.  For  me,  at  least,  Win- 
dows 32-bit  FastDisk  is  faster 
than  Drive  Rocket. 

Based  on  my  experiences,  I 
decided  to  save  the  memory 
and  shelve  Drive  Rocket  and 
Maximum  Overdrive  on  both  my 
home  and  work  systems.      D 


8         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


(CompuServe) 


(CompuServe  is  not  realty  a  pair  of  glasses,  it  is  an  online  information  service.) 


FEEDBACK 


Running  a  solar- 
powered  computer, 
getting  input  tram 
your  function  keys, 
and  generating 
random  numbers 


Off  the  Grid 

I  read  and  enjoyed  your  sec- 
tion on  computers,  health,  and 
the  environment  (March  1993, 
COMPUTE'S  Getting  Started 
with™  Computers,  Health,  & 
the  Environment,  not  available 
in  all  editions).  In  a  list  of  "sta- 
tistics to  ponder"  you  state 
that  a  fully-equipped  PC  re- 
quires about  200  watts  of  pow- 
er and  that  running  the  ma- 
chine consumes  400  kilowatt- 
hours  per  year,  resulting  in  the 
burning  of  oil  that  releases 
tons  of  carbon  dioxide  into  the 
atmosphere. 

Let's  get  out  of  nineteenth- 
century  thinking  and  get  into 
the  twenty-first  century.  My  com- 
puter doesn't  cause  any  oil  to 
be  burned  in  generating  elec- 
tricity, as  my  home  isn't 
hooked  up  to  the  grid.  We  run 
our  house  using  solar-gener- 
ated electricity.  Our  lights,  re- 
frigerator, computer,  and  pow- 
er tools  operate  on  solar.  We 
run  a  light  all  night  long  in  the 
yard,  and  our  security  lights 
are  solar  powered,  with  no 
maintenance  required  on  our 
part.  Every  house  being  built  to- 
day should  be  equipped  with 
solar  heating  and  solar-gener- 
ated electricity.  Let's  start  the 
twenty-first  century  right. 

BILL  COOPER 
APPLE  VALLEY,  CA 

Playing  Games 

How  do  I  get  INKEY$  to  ac- 
cept input  from  the  function 
keys?  How  can  I  make  figures 
move  against  a  graphical  back- 
ground? I'm  writing  games  in 
BASIC,  and  I  want  to  release 
them  into  shareware. 

JASON  BLACK 
JUDSONIA,  AZ 

You  don't  get  iNKEY$  to  ac- 
cept input  from  the  function 
keys.  KEY  is  the  specialized 
command  for  reading  the  func- 
tion keys.  It's  an  event-trap- 
ping command.  That  is,  you 
tell  the  program  what  to  do, 
and  anytime  the  specified  key 


is  pressed,  the  command  will 
be  issued.  Here's  an  example. 

KEY(O)  ON 

ON  KEY(1)G0SUBF1 

ON  KEY(2)  GOSUB  F2 

ON  KEY(3)  GOSUB  F3 

WHILE  A$o"q" 

A$  =  INKEY$ 

WEND 

END 

Pi: 

PRINT  "The  F1  function  key  was 

pressed." 
RETURN 
F2: 
PRINT  "The  F2  function  key  was 

pressed." 
RETURN 
F3: 
PRINT  "The  F3  function  key  was 

pressed." 
RETURN 

The  keys  1-10  refer  to  the 
function  keys  1-10.  Use  30 
and  31  to  receive  input  from 
keys  F11  and  F12,  respective- 
ly. This  chart  tells  the  value 
for  the  arrow  keys. 


Up 
Left 

11 
12 

Right 
Down 

13 
14 

You  can  define  some  other 
keys  (not  many).  Check  QBA 
SIC's  Help  for  more  information 
on  event  trapping  with  KEY 

Use  GET  and  PUT  to  ani- 
mate figures  against  a  still  back- 
ground. As  the  game  is  setting 
up;  draw  or  load  the  figures  on- 
to the  graphic  screen  and  use 
GET  to  place  the  figures  into 
variables.  When  you  place  the 
figures  on  the  still  background, 
GET  the  background  into  a  dif- 
ferent variable  and  PUT  the  fig- 
ure on  the  screen  with  an  XOR 
action  verb,  which  places  only 
the  character  and  not  its  back- 
ground on  the  screen.  When 
the  character  moves  on,  PUT 
the  section  of  the  still  screen 
back.  Alternatively  you  could 
simply  XOR  the  character  into 
place  and  then  XOR  it  off  the 


screen  again  (using  XOR  a  sec- 
ond time  restores  the  screen 
to  its  original  appearance).  The 
drawback  to  this  is  that  the  col- 
ors of  the  background  will  inter- 
act with  the  character's  colors. 
Although  we  seem  to  provide 
GET  and  PUT  examples  with 
ridiculous  frequency  in  "Feed- 
back," what  possible  harm 
could  one  more  example  do? 

DIM  A(101),  B(101) 

RANDOMIZE  TIMER 

SCREEN  12 

REM  First,  draw  a  character  on  the 

REM  screen  and  capture  it  to  a 

REM  variable  with  GET. 

FOR  i  =  0  TO  10 

FOR  J  =  0  TO  10 

PRESET  (i,  J),  RND  *  15 

NEXT 

NEXT 

GET  (0,  0)-(10,  10),  A 

A$  =  "The  XOR  Method" 
B$  =  "Note  that  the  image 

fluctuates  with  the  background." 
GOSUB  BACKGROUND 
FOR  i  =  620  TO  0  STEP  -1 
PUT  (i,  240  -  (SIN(i  /100)  *  225)), 

A,  XOR 

FOR  J  =  0  TO  100:  NEXT 
PUT  (i,  240  -  (SIN(i  /100)  *  225)), 

A,  XOR 
NEXT 

A$  =  "The  GET/ PUT  Method" 
B$  =  "Note  that  the  image  is 

more  stable." 
GOSUB  BACKGROUND 
FOR  i  =  620  TO  0  STEP  -1 
GET  (i,  240  -  (SIN(i  /100)  *  225))- 

(i  +  10,  250  -  (SIN(i  /100)  * 

225)),  B 
PUT  (i,  240  -  (SIN(i  /100)  *  225)), 

A,  PSET 

FOR  J  =  0TO  100:  NEXT 

PUT  (i,  240  -  (SIN(i  /100)  *  225)), 

B,  PSET 

REM  Change  PSET  to  PRESET  for 
REM  an  interesting  effect. 
NEXT 

END 

BACKGROUND: 

CLS 

FOR  i  =  0  TO  640 


10         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


(America  Online) 


(America  Online  is  not  really  a  pair  of  glasses,  it  is  an  online  information  service.) 


\N 


hat  we're  trying  to  say  here  is  this  is  not  your  father's  online 

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Explore  strange  new  galaxies, 

seek  out  new  life  and  new 
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yet,  just  hang  out  with 
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talk  about  it.  We've 
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you'll  actually 
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Science  Fiction, 
comics,  electronics, 
Mac,  God,  White 
House,  motorcycles, 
MIDI,  soaps.  It's  a  cool 
world  if  you  know  the  right  people. 


OO* 


Over  200,000  files  to  download. 

Games,  graphics,  sounds,  text 

and  then  some.  If  that's  not 

enough  to  keep  you  busy,  you 

need  to  get  out  more. 


c 


Jmk 


"— ^  If  you're  having  a  problem 
j  with  your  computer,  you 
i  can  talk  with  one  of  our 
experts.  And  if  that 
doesn't  help,  just  give  it 
a  good  swift  kick. 
Hey,  it  could  work. 


Kick  butt  in  CyberStrike,  winner  of 
Computer  Gaming  World's  1993  On-line 
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BattleTech™  Less  butt-kicking?  How 
about  GemStone  III,™  the  fantasy 
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Okay,  we'll  get  back  to  you. 


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against  GEnie  service  charges  in  an  amount  up  to 
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There's  one  for  Windows  and  one  for  Mac."" To  get  yours,  either  download  once 
you're  on-line,  or  call  1-800-638-9636  for  a  free  disk. 

Get  your  motor  running,  head  out  on  the  information  highway. 
With  access  to  the  Internet,  you  might  discuss  anything  from 
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to  the  impact  of  Baywatch  with 

top . . .  uh,  Bay  watchers. 


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We've  got  the 
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computer  gurus.  Sorry, 
we  can't  name  names. 
We'd  have  to  deal  with 
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I .  Set  your  communications  software  for  half  duplex 
(local  echo),  at  300,  1200  or  2400  baud. 

2.  Dial  toll  free:  1-800-638-8369  or  in  Canada  1-800-387-8330.  Immediately 
upon  connection,  enter  HHH  (Please  note:  Every  time  you  sign  onto  GEnie,  you 
need  to  enter  HHH  upon  connection.) 

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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  110 


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FEEDBACK 

LINE  (i,  0)-(i,  480),  i  AND  15 
NEXT 

LOCATE  1,1:  PRINT  A$:  PRINT 
B$ 
RETURN 

BASIC  Malfunction 

Suppose  there's  no  built-in 
random  number  generator. 
Can  you  generate  random 
numbers  without  it?  If 
there's  no  SQR  function, 
how  can  you  derive  a 
square  root?  Is  there  a  way 
to  know  how  long  I've  been 
using  the  computer? 

WESLEY  HO 
NEW  YORK,  NY 

This  little  program  won't  gen- 
erate really  random  num- 
bers, but  they'll  probably  do 
the  job.  Just  use  this  as  a 
subroutine  and  put  in  a 
GOSUB  RANDOM  to  return 
a  randomlike  number  in  the 
variable  RANDOMNUMBER. 

random: 

counter  =  counter  +  1:  IF 

counter  >  5  THEN  counter  = 

VAL(random$)  *  .0001 
random$  = 

RIGHT$(STR$((VAL(RIGHT$ 

(TIME$,2))  +  3)  A  (counter  / 

(VAL(RIGHT$(TIME$,  2))  + 

1))),5) 
IF  random$  =  a$  THEN 

GOTO  random 

randomnumber=VAL(random$) 
RETURN 

Here's  a  program  that  will 
return  any  whole  root  of  a 
number  between  .0000001 
and  9999999. 

ON  ERROR  GOTO 

errorhandler 
beginning: 
INPUT  "Enter  number  you 

want  root  of:  ";  a 
INPUT  "Enter  the  root  (2  = 

square  root):  ";  root% 
c  =  a:  e  =  0 
IF  root%  =  1  THEN  GOTO 

ender 
IF  root%  <=  0  OR  a  < 

.0000001  OR  a  >  9999999 

THEN  ERROR  6 
f  =  c:  GOSUB  mult 
IF  m  <  a  THEN  GOTO  topi 
IF  m  =  a  THEN  GOTO  ender 
IF  a  <  0  THEN  PRINT 

"Cannot  derive  root  of 


negative  number.":  END 
top2: 

f  =  c:  GOSUB  mult 
IF  m  >  a  THEN  d  =  c:  c  =  c  / 

10:GOTOtop2 
top3: 

f  =  d:  GOSUB  mult 
IF  m  >  a  THEN 
d  =  d-c 
GOTO  top3 
ELSE 
IF  m  =  a  OR  e  >=  6  THEN 

c  s  d:  GOTO  ender 
GOSUB  reduce 
GOTO  top3 
END  IF 
topi: 

f  =  c:  GOSUB  mult 
IF  m  <  a  THEN  c  =  c  *  10: 

GOTO  topi 
d  =  c:  c  =  c/10 
top4: 

f  =  d:  GOSUB  mult 
IF  m  >  a  THEN 
d  =  d  -  c:  GOTO  top4 
ELSE 
IF  m  =  a  OR  e  >=  6  THEN 

c  =  d:  GOTO  ender 
GOSUB  reduce 
GOTO  top4 
END  IF 
ender: 
PRINTa;"A(1/ 

";  root%;  ")  is  "; 

c 

END 
reduce: 

d  =  d  +  c:c  =  c/10 
e  =  e  +  1 
RETURN 
mult: 
m  =  f 

FOR  mult  =  2  TO  root% 
m  =  m  *  f 
NEXT 
RETURN 
errorhandler: 

PRINT  "Error  encountered." 
RESUME  beginning 

When  run,  the  following 
program  will  note  the  cur- 
rent time,  save  it  in  a  file 
called  TIMLOG  in  your  root 
directory  and  quit. 

When  you're  finished  with 
your  work,  run  this  program 
again.  The  program  will  dis- 
play the  elapsed  time  since 
you  ran  it  the  first  time.  You 
then  have  two  choices: 
Press  1  to  continue  timing,  or 
press  2  to  exit  the  timer.  If 
you  exit  the  timer,  the  pro- 
gram will  append  the  most  re- 
cent elapsed  time  to  a  log 
file  in  your  root  directory 
called    WORKLOG.HHH 


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FEHMK 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  248 


(which  is  a  simpie  text  fiie 
that  can  be  read  using  EDIT 
or  any  other  ASCii-friendiy 
word  processor  or  text  edi- 
tor), and  it  wiii  deiete 
TIMLOG. 

Note:  This  program  wiii 
not  keep  track  of  work  ses- 
sions that  iast  past  the  year 
10,000  A.D.  This  program 
wiii  not  accurately  track 
work  sessions  beginning  in 
February  of  2100  (or  any  oth- 
er century  year  not  evenly 
divisible  by  400  unless  it's 
evenly  divisible  by  4000) 
and  extending  into  a  later 
month  or  year.  If  you  find 
yourself  working  around 
11:59  p.m.  on  February  28, 
2100,  exit  the  timer  program 
and  take  a  break  until  after 
midnight.  Tell  your  boss  we 
said  it  was  ail  right. 

ON  ERROR  GOTO 

secondhalf 
OPEN  ATIMLOG"  FOR 

INPUT  AS  #1 
LINE  INPUT  #1,s$:s  = 

VAL(s$) 
LINE  INPUT  #1,  m$:m  = 

VAL(m$) 
LINE  INPUT  #1,  h$:h  = 

VAL(h$) 
LINE  INPUT  #1,  d$:d  = 

VAL(d$) 
LINE  INPUT  #1,  mo$:  mo  = 

VAL(mo$) 
LINE  INPUT  #1,y$:y  = 

VAL(y$) 
s1  =  VAL(RIGHT$(TIME$,  2)) 
ml  =  VAL(MID$(TIME$,  4,  2)) 
hi  =  VAL(LEFT$(TIME$,  2)) 
d1  =  VAL(MID$(DATE$,  4,  2)) 
mo1  =  VAL(LEFT$(DATE$,  2)) 
y1  =  VAL(RIGHT$(DATE$,  4)) 
cy  =  0 
s2  =  s1  -  s 
IF  s2  <  0  THEN  s2  =  60  +  s2: 

cy  =  1 

m2  =  ml  -  m  -  cy:  cy  =  0 
IF  m2  <  0  THEN  m2  =  60  + 

m2:  cy  =  1 

h2  =  hi  -  h  -  cy:  cy  =  0 
IF  h2  <  0  THEN  h2  =  24  +  h2: 

cy  =  1 

d2  =  d1  -  d  -  cy:  cy  =  0 
dm  =  31  +  ((mo  =  9)  OR  (mo 

=  4)  OR  (mo  =  6)  OR  (mo  = 

11)) 
IF  mo  =  2  THEN  dm  =  28  -  (y 

/4  =  INT(y/4)) 
IF  d2  <  0  THEN  d2  =  dm  + 

d2:  cy  =  1 


mo2  =  mo1  -  mo  -  cy:  cy  =  0 
IFmo2<0THENmo2  =  12  + 

mo2:  cy  =  1 
y2  =  y1  -  y  -  cy 
PRINT  "Work  time  equals  "; 

y2;  "  year(s),  ";  mo2; 

"  month(s),  ";  d2;  "  day(s),  " 
PRINT  SPACE$(17);  h2;  " 

hour(s),  ";  m2;  "  minute(s), 

and  ";  s2;  •  second(s)." 
PRINT  "To  continue  timing, 

press  1." 
PRINT  "To  exit  timing,  press 

2." 

getanotherkeypress: 
a$  =  INKEY$ 

IF  a$  =  "1"  THEN  SYSTEM 
IF  a$  <>  "2"  THEN  GOTO 

getanotherkeypress 
OPEN  Aworklog.hhh"  FOR 

APPEND  AS  #2 
PRINT  #2,  DATE$,  TIME$ 
PRINT  #2,  "Work  time 

equals";  y2;  "  year(s),";  mo2; 

"  month(s),";  d2;  "  day(s),  " 
PRINT  #2,  SPACE$(17);  h2; 

"  hours,";  m2;  "  minutes, 

and";  s2;  "  seconds." 
PRINT  #2, 
CLOSE 

SHELL  "del  Mimlog" 
SYSTEM 
secondhalf: 
OPEN  "Mimlog"  FOR  OUTPUT 

AS#1 

PRINT  #1,  RIGHT$(TIME$,  2) 
PRINT  #1,MID$(TIME$,  4,2) 
PRINT  #1,  LEFT$(TIME$,  2) 
PRINT  #1,  MID$(DATE$,  4,  2) 
PRINT  #1,  LEFT$(DATE$,  2) 
PRINT  #1,  RIGHT$(DATE$,  4) 
SYSTEM 


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Name . Age 


Address^ 
Gty/State_ 
Phone ( 


_Apt.< 


_Zip_ 


INTRODOS 


Tony  Roberts 


Good  reasons 

to  consider 

Microsoft's  second 

thoughts 

about  DOS  6.0 


OLD  D0S7 
NEW  TRICKS 

Microsoft  has  taken  the  wraps 
off  DOS  6.2,  an  operating  sys- 
tem miniupgrade  that's  widely 
regarded  as  a  bug  fix  for  Dou- 
bleSpace, the  disk-doubling 
utility  introduced  in  DOS  6.0. 

Although  correcting  Dou- 
bleSpace problems  may  have 
been  the  driving  force  behind 
this  upgrade,  DOS  6.2  in- 
cludes a  handful  of  features 
that  will  be  of  interest  to  all  us- 
ers— even  those  who  don't 
use  DoubleSpace. 

First,  however,  let's  see 
what  changes  have  come  to 
DoubleSpace. 

The  program  now  includes 
what's  called  DoubleGuard,  a 
checksum-based  system  that 
identifies  corruption  in  Dou- 
bleSpace memory  buffers  be- 
fore data  is  written  to  disk.  If 
this  verification  fails,  the  sys- 
tem is  shut  down  to  limit  fur- 
ther data  corruption. 

DoubleGuard  slows  system 
performance  slightly,  but  it 
can  be  turned  off  if  you  wish 
to  run  your  system  without  it. 

Other  new  DoubleSpace  fea- 
tures include  Uncompress 
and  Automount. 

Uncompress  can  return  com- 
pressed drives  to  normal  and 
then  uninstall  DoubleSpace. 

Automount  allows  the  sys- 
tem to  recognize  compressed 
floppy  disks  and  other  com- 
pressed removable  media  au- 
tomatically. The  new  Dou- 
bleSpace includes  clearer  er- 
ror messages,  and  its  footprint 
in  memory  has  even  been  re- 
duced by  a  few  K. 

In  a  statement  that  hints  at 
some  of  the  rough  edges  us- 
ers have  encountered  on  Dou- 
bleSpace in  version  6.0,  Brad 
Silverberg,  a  Microsoft  vice 
president,  describes  the  en- 
hanced safety  features  in  ver- 
sion 6.2  as  "the  software  equiv- 
alent of  passenger-side  air 
bags  and  antilock  brakes  to 


make  disk  compression  as 
easy  and  safe  as  possible." 

A  new  general-use  feature 
of  DOS  6.2  is  ScanDisk,  a  disk 
repair  tool.  This  program 
works  with  both  compressed 
and  uncompressed  drives  to 
diagnose  and  correct  disk  er- 
rors such  as  lost  clusters  and 
cross-linked  files. 

ScanDisk  can  also  perform 
a  surface  analysis  of  your  me- 
dia and  can  lock  out  any  un- 
reliable sectors.  ScanDisk's  ca- 
pabilities go  well  beyond 
those  of  the  old  standby 
Chkdsk,  rendering  that  famil- 
iar program  virtually  obsolete. 

The  SMARTDrive  disk 
cache  utility  also  has  been 
spruced  up  in  this  upgrade, 
providing  additional  function- 
ality as  well  as  safety.  Most  no- 
tably, the  program  now  is  able 
to  cache  CD-ROM  drives.  In  ad- 
dition, SMARTDrive  now  has 
write  caching  disabled  by  de- 
fault. However,  if  write  caching 
is  enabled  by  the  user, 
SMARTDrive  will  flush  its 
cache  to  disk  before  returning 
the  user  to  the  C  prompt,  pre- 
venting the  loss  of  data  that  oc- 
curs when  the  computer  is 
turned  off  before  the  cache  is 
fully  flushed  to  disk. 

DOS  6.2  improves  on  its 
predecessor  by  allowing  inter- 
active execution  of  AUTOEX- 
EC.BAT as  well  as  CON- 
FIG.SYS statements.  This  fea- 
ture makes  it  easy  to  debug  a 
troublesome  startup  routine. 
Another  startup  improvement 
allows  DoubleSpace  users  to 
boot  without  loading  Dou- 
bleSpace by  pressing  Ctrl-F5. 
Also  at  startup,  the  high-mem- 
ory manager,  HIMEM.SYS, 
now  performs  a  more  rigorous 
test  of  extended  memory  than 
occurs  in  most  Power  On  Self 
Test  routines. 

Another  noteworthy  addi- 
tion to  DOS  6.2  is  single-pass 
disk  copying.  DOS  now 
makes  use  of  available  hard 
disk  space  to  permit  floppy-to- 
floppy  copies  without  requir- 


ing multiple  disk  swaps.  And 
speaking  of  copying,  the 
Copy,  Move,  and  Xcopy  com- 
mands will  now  warn  a  user  if 
they  are  about  to  overwrite  a 
file  of  the  same  name.  Ingen- 
iously, this  feature  is  only  em- 
ployed with  commands  that 
are  issued  from  the  DOS 
prompt.  Copy,  Move,  and 
Xcopy  commands  executed 
from  batch  files  will  proceed 
as  before,  without  warning 
about  overwrites.  So  your  ex- 
isting batch  files  will  run  as  be- 
fore, but  when  you  use  these 
commands  at  the  command 
line,  you'll  be  prompted  before 
data  is  overwritten. 

Other  programs  enhanced 
in  DOS  6.2  include  Defrag, 
which  now  is  able  to  defrag- 
ment disks  that  hold  as  many 
as  20,000  files;  Windows  Un- 
delete, which  no  longer  allows 
users  to  enter  invalid  file- 
names; and  Dir,  Mem,  Chk- 
dsk, and  Format,  which  now 
display  numbers  of  four  or 
more  digits  with  commas. 

If  you're  a  current  user  of 
DOS  6.0,  you  can  get  the 
Step  Up  version  of  DOS  6.2 
from  software  resellers  for 
$9.95  or  by  downloading  the 
upgrade  files  from  the  Micro- 
soft area  on  CompuServe,  GE- 
nie,  or  America  Online.  Or  you 
can  connect  to  the  Microsoft 
Download  Library  at  (206)  936- 
6735.  You  must  have  DOS  6.0 
running  on  your  system  to  use 
the  DOS  6.2  Step  Up. 

Users  of  earlier  versions  of 
DOS  can  purchase  DOS  6.2 
from  software  retailers  for  a  sug- 
gested retail  price  of  $77.95. 
Also  available  is  DOS  6.2  Up- 
grade for  Dummies,  which  in- 
cludes a  copy  of  Dan  Gook- 
in's  popular  DOS  for  Dum- 
mies. The  suggested  price  for 
that  version  is  also  $77.95. 

More  than  a  bug  fix,  less 
than  a  new  operating  system, 
DOS  6.2  offers  plenty  of  good 
reasons  to  move  up,  whether 
you're  running  6.0,  5.0,  or 
something  still  earlier.  D 


18        COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


Eventually. 


Eclipse  FIND  locates  any  document  in  less  than  3  seconds. 


Searching  your  hard  drive  for  files  is  just  like 
searching  through  an  archaeological  dig;  the 
longer  it's  been  buried,  the  longer  it  takes  to  find. 

Eclipse  FIND,  the  new  full  text  retrieval  soft- 
ware from  Phoenix,  finds  files  instantly.  It  takes 
seconds  to  locate,  retrieve,  launch  and  manage 
your  files  from  inside  any  Windows  application. 

With  tool  bar  convenience,  view  and  archive 
files,  copy  text,  print  and  even  fax  documents.* 
Eclipse  FIND  automatically  indexes  your  files 
based  on  their  content,  allowing  you  to  find  any 


document  in  your  computer  simply  by  typing  in 

any  word  in  the  document.  Plus,  Eclipse  FIND  is 

network  ready,  and  includes  our  exclusive  Hard 

Drive  Sweep™  and  Calendar 

View  features.  So  if  you've 

been  spending  too  much  time 

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Eclipse  FIND.  And  ask  about 

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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  143 


TEST  LAB 


Edited  by  Mike  Hudnall 
Reviews  by  William  Harrel 

Presentation  software  and 
computer  screen  shows 
have  changed  the  face  of 
business  presentations. 
When  presentation  software 
appeared,  prospective  clients, 
boards  of  directors,  bosses — 
audiences  of  all  types — were 
awestruck  by  fancy  screen 
wipes,  fades,  and  glittering  tran- 
sitions. After  that  came  slides 
with  automatic  build  capabilities 
and,  with  the  release  of  Microsoft 
PowerPoint  3.0,  flying  bullets. 
Undoubtedly,  Windows'  Media 
Control  Interface  (MCI)  is  rapidly 
changing  the  scope  of  business 
presentations. 

With  a  sound  board,  speakers, 
microphone,  and  one  of  these  13 
multimedia  packages,  you  can 
really  bring  your  presentations  to 
life.  No  longer  are  you  relegated  to 
narrating  silent,  still  scenes  and 
making  important  points  with  a 
stick  (or  your  finger).  The  right  pres- 
entation software  turns  your  PC  in- 
to a  motion-picture  studio.  Which 
is  more  effective:  the  presenter 
describing  how  a  product  works 
as  the  audience  stares  at  a  still  pic- 
ture, or  a  narrated  animation  of  the 
product  in  action?  Instead  of  the 
presenter's  moving  from  one  bar 
chart  to  the  next  to  show  trends, 
it's  much  more  dramatic  if  the 
bars  grow  and  shrink  onscreen. 

Most  of  these  programs 
approach  creating  presentations 


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JflCTIOfll 

20         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


in  the  same  traditional,  presenta- 
tion-program manner:  Tables, 
charts,  and  graphs  are  plotted  on 
spreadsheetlike  data  forms  and 
then  pasted  into  slides.  A  presen- 
tation is  made  up  of  several 
slides.  (Slide  is  actually  a  catchall 
term  for  every  output  media  type 
available,  including  35-mm  slides, 
transparencies,  computer  moni- 
tors, paper,  and  anything  else  Win- 
dows prints  on.)  In  most  cases,  the 
presentation  itself  is  managed 
with  some  form  of  outliner. 

However,  the  ability  to  create 
simple  slide  shows  is  no  longer 
enough.  Even  the  traditional  pres- 
entation packages — such  as  Pow- 
erPoint, Harvard  Graphics,  and 
Freelance  Graphics — now  sup- 
port sound,  animation,  and  full- 
motion  video. 

The  full-blown  multimedia  pro- 
grams— Action!,  HSC  Interactive, 
and  Q-Media — use  different  types 
of  metaphors  for  putting  together 
a  presentation.  Action!,  for  exam- 
ple, uses  a  VCR-like  interface  that 
allows  you  to  combine  media 
clips  and  other  presentation  ele- 
ments on  a  time  fine.  HSC  Interac- 
tive uses  flow-chart-like  icons  that 
let  you  create  a  presentation  sim- 
ply by  dragging  and  connecting 
objects  along  a  continuum. 

Interactive  presentations  are 
possible,  to  one  degree  or  anoth- 
er, with  most  of  the  packages  in 
this  month's  lineup.  In  interactive 
presentations,  either  the  present- 
er or  the  viewer  can  control  cer- 
tain aspects  of  the  presentation 
by  clicking  on  a  defined  area  of 
the  screen  (such  as  a  button)  or 
by  using  the  keyboard.  Interactiv- 
ity can  include,  for  example,  play- 
ing a  sound  or  animation  file  (or 
both  simultaneously)  or  jumping 


Action!  2.5  for  Windows 
Suggested  retail  price:  $299 

MACROMEDIA 

GOO  Townsend  51. 

San  Francisco,  CA  94103 

(BOO)  945-4061 

(415)  442-0200 


to  different  scenes  or  parts  of  the 
presentation. 

The  trick  to  picking  a  presenta- 
tion package  from  this  group  is 
finding  the  one  with  the  features 
that  fit  your  needs. 

Keep  in  mind  that  the  comput- 
er system  you  use  with  these  pro- 
grams is  important  for  two  rea- 
sons. First,  since  these  applica- 
tions are  graphics-intensive  (and 
they  use  Windows'  color  capabil- 
ities to  their  fullest),  you  should 
have  at  least  a  256-color  display 
system.  Second,  often  output  is 
to  a  screen  show  on  your  moni- 
tor; to  run  the  screen  show  smooth- 
ly, you'll  need  a  reasonably  fast 
computer  and  a  good  chunk  of 
RAM.  Two  years  ago,  I  tested 
some  of  these  programs  on  a  386/ 
16  SX  with  4MB  RAM;  it  was  not 
powerful  enough  to  run  most  of 
the  screen  shows  without  perform- 
ance lags,  Nothing  can  ruin  a 
good  presentation  faster  than  a 
long  delay  or  an  application 
error — just  when  you're  about  to 
make  a  crucial  point. 

The  programs  in  this  month's 
Test  Lab  were  tested  on  a  486/ 
33  with  20MB  RAM,  which  is 
much  more  muscle  than  any  of 
them  should  need.  Though  some 
ran  better  than  others,  they  all  per- 
formed well  enough.  Output  was 
tested  using  transparency  film  on 
an  IBM  4029  at  600  dpi.  Screen 
shows  were  tested  with  a  Radius 
MultiView  24  true-color  graphics 
adapter  on  a  19-inch,  high-reso- 
lution monitor.  Used  with  the  486 
and  the  high-end  display,  most  of 
these  programs  turned  out  daz- 
zling onscreen  presentations. 

WILLIAM  HARREL 

ACTION!  2.5  FOR 
WINDOWS 

Action!  is  by  no  means  a  conven- 
tional program.  Though  designed 
to  make  users  of  the  more  typical 
slide-generating  software  feel  at 
home,  this  program  is  geared 
more  to  creating  presentations 
made  up  of  path-based  moving  ob- 


jects,  animation  clips,  and  sound. 
Its  versatility  makes  it  somewhat 
more  difficult  to  master  than,  say, 
Lotus's  Freelance  Graphics. 

Action!  presentations  consist 
of  components  the  program  calls 
scenes,  which  are  similar  to 
slides  in  Microsoft  PowerPoint, 
Aldus  Persuasion,  or  one  of  the 
many  other  traditional  programs. 
It's  easy  to  place  multimedia 
clips  in  an  Action!  scene.  Simply 
select  the  appropriate  icon  and 
then  click  in  the  portion  of  the  ed- 
iting area  where  the  clip  should 
appear.  A  dialog  box  opens  to  let 
you  choose  the  file,  set  the  dura- 
tion and  speed,  and  select  wheth- 
er to  loop  the  clip,  carry  it  into  the 
next  scene,  and  so  on.  A  VCR- 
like  player  allows  you  to  play 


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back  all  or  sections  of  your  work 
to  see  how  it's  coming  together 

Action!  provides  several  ways 
to  manipulate  and  keep  track  of 
events  in  your  scenes.  There's 
Content  List,  a  feature  that  dis- 
plays a  visual  tally  of  scene  com- 
ponents and  lets  you  drag  and 
drop  names  to  rearrange  the 
flow.  A  time  line  shows  the  events 
in  your  presentation  as  bars  on  a 
graph.  You  can  drag  and  drop 
events  to  change  their  sequence, 
and  you  can  increase  or  de- 
crease durations  interactively  by 
stretching  them  with  your  mouse. 
A  scene  sorter,  similar  to  other  pro- 
grams'  slide  sorters,  lets  you 
move  scenes  to  different  loca- 
tions in  the  presentation. 

As  versatile  as  Action!  is,  it  still 
has  some  rough  edges.  In  com- 
plicated scenes  with  a  number  of 
animated  objects,  movement  is 
sometimes  jerky.  I  found  the  man- 


Aldus  Persuasion  for  Windows  2.1 
Suggested  retail  price:  $495 

ALDUS 

411  First  Ave.  S 

Seattle.  WA  98104-2871 
(206)  628-2320 


ual  somewhat  disorganized  and 
not  always  easy  to  follow.  For  ex- 
ample, it  describes  tools  and  the 
application  window  before  it 
gives  installation  instructions.  (It's 
much  better  to  have  the  program 
loaded  and  open  so  you  can  com- 
pare what  you  see  onscreen  to 
the  illustrations  in  the  manual.) 

A  good  videotape  tutorial  cov- 
ering the  basics  comes  with  the 
program.  However,  it's  short  and 
does  little  more  than  get  you  ex- 
cited about  the  possibilities,  rath- 
er than  show  you  how  to  use  the 
software.  Action!  comes  with  sev- 
eral fine  templates.  However, 
they  are  not  used  in  the  tradition- 
al sense.  Instead,  you  must  copy 
all  or  part  of  them  into  your  pres- 
entation, rather  than  use  the  tem- 
plate as  a  shell  that  you  flesh  out 
with  your  own  text  and  graphics. 

Technical  support  answered 
quickly.  I  called  twice  and  got 
through  immediately;  each  time 
the  technician  was  courteous 
and  knew  the  answers  to  all  of 
my  questions. 

If  you're  looking  for  a  full-fea- 
tured multimedia  presentation  pro- 
gram that's  relatively  easy  to  use 
and  gives  you  a  wide  range  of 
presentation  options,  look  no  fur- 
ther than  Action!. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  371 

ALDUS  PERSUASION 
FOR  WINDOWS  2.1 

Persuasion  remains  one  of  the  stal- 
wart performers  in  the  graphics 
software  business. 

Persuasion's  tutorial  and  man- 
uals are  flawless,  and  there's  a 
beautiful,  full-color  desk  reference 
with  easy-to-f  i  nd  command  descr  ip- 
tions  and  guidelines  for  using  the 


program's  templates.  Persuasion 
runs  smoothly  and  does  what  it's 
designed  to  do  without  a  hitch. 
However,  like  a  few  other  Aldus 
applications,  it  hasn't  had  a  major 
upgrade  in  a  while,  and  it's  lagging 
behind  in  the  features  race.  The 
good  news  is  that  a  new  version 
is  in  the  works,  but  it  has  not  been 
announced  as  of  this  writing. 

Users  of  other  Aldus  programs 
should  find  Persuasion  especial- 
ly easy  to  use.  It  sports  the 
famous  Aldus  pasteboard  meta- 
phor, which  allows  you  to  place 
objects  outside  the  page  area. 
The  right  mouse  button  causes 
the  display  to  zoom  in  and  out, 
and  you  can  even  invoke  the  Grab- 
ber Hand  feature  by  holding 
down  Shift  as  you  drag  the 
mouse.  Persuasion's  slide  tem- 
plates are  some  of  the  best  in  the 
business,  rivaled  only  by  Power- 
Point's. DDE  and  OLE  are  support- 
ed but  not  during  the  screen 


Projected  Air  Travel 


H 


i .  i 


_ 


show,  which  means  that  you  can 
forget  sound  and  animation. 

You  won't  find  a  toolbar  in  Per- 
suasion; instead,  there's  a  toolbox 
resembling  PageMaker's  with  lim- 
ited text  and  graphics  options.  To 
take  advantage  of  most  options  for 
text,  graphics,  and  chart-format- 

MARCH  1994     COMPUTE         21 


TEST  LAB 


ting,  you  must  wade  (sometimes 
deeply)  into  the  menu  and  dialog 
box  system.  Other  limitations  are 
that  you  can  open  only  one  pres- 
entation at  a  time  and  that  each 
presentation  can  contain  only  13 
slides.  Yet  another  drawback  is 
Aldus's  90-day  free  support  policy. 
After  the  first  90  days,  you  must 
either  use  a  900  number  at  $15  a 
call  or  join  a  support  program  with 
fee  and  benefit  options  ranging 
between  $99  and  $149  per  year. 
However,  Aldus  technicians  are 
extremely  well  trained.  Not  once 
have  I  called  and  not  had  my  ques- 
tions answered. 

While  Persuasion  has  fallen  a  lit- 
tle behind  the  times,  it  is  still  a  sol- 
id performer.  If  you  use  other 
Aldus  products,  you'll  like  this  one. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  372 


BRAVO!  2.0 


At  about  half  the  price  of  the  other 
full-featured  presentation  pro- 
grams reviewed  here,  Alpha  Soft- 
ware's Bravo!  certainly  deserves 
consideration.  Since  it  is  newer 
than  many  of  the  others,  many  of 
its  options  take  up  where  other  pro- 
grams' options  leave  off. 

A  good  example  of  Bravol's 
improvement  over  the  competi- 
tion is  its  collapsible  outliner.  High- 
end  word  processors  can  col- 
lapse or  expand  an  outline,  or 
hide  or  show  subtopics  and 
notes.  This  capability  is  handy  in 
Bravo!  because  it  allows  you  to 
prepare  slides  and  speaker 
notes  at  the  same  time.  Simply 
use  the  collapsed  outline  in  your 
slides  and  print  the  expanded  out- 
line for  notes. 

22         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


Bravo!  2.0 

Estimated  street  price:  $79,00, 
S39.95  tor  graphics  add-on 
including  Power  Fonts  and  Power 
Album  (clip  art) 

ALPHA  SOFTWARE 
168  Middlesex  Turnpike 
Burlington.  MA  01803 
1800)451-1018 


Unlike  most  of  the  other  pro- 
grams reviewed  here,  Bravo!  has 
organization  charts.  In  business  set- 
tings, organization  charts  can  be 
essential  to  a  presentation;  I've  al- 
ways wondered  why  presentation 
programs  tend  to  leave  them  out. 

An  interesting  feature  is  called 
DataPictures.  This  smart  clip  art — 
pencils,  clocks,  computers,  and 
so  on — adjusts  itself  according  to 
the  data  in  your  data  sheet  to  cre- 
ate attractive  pictograms  quickly 
and  efficiently.  The  program  ships 
with  several  examples  of  DataPic- 
tures, and  the  manual  contains  in- 
formation about  creating  your  own. 


Pictograms  aren't  always  appropri- 
ate, but  sometimes  they  can  really 
spruce  up  a  presentation. 

Bravo!  also  supports  a  wealth 
of  graphics,  data,  and  clip  media 
from  other  programs,  such  as 
data  from  all  the  leading  spread- 
sheets and  database  formats,  sev- 
eral graphics  formats,  and  even 
outlines  from  Word  for  Windows. 
FLI,  FLC,  and  MMM  animation 
files  are  supported,  as  well  as 
Microsoft  Video  for  Windows  AVI 
files  and  most  common  sound  for- 
mats. For  file  formats  not  support- 
ed, you  can  create  OLE  (Object 
Linking  and  Embedding)  links  to 
run  clips  in  other  programs. 


Like  some  of  the  more  expen- 
sive packages,  such  as  Power- 
Point and  Harvard  Graphics,  this 
one  lets  you  create  hypertext 
links  between  slides;  this  capabil- 
ity allows  you  to  jump  around  in 
an  electronic  presentation.  You'll 
find  this  handy  for  illuminating 
points  and  responding  to  audi- 
ence questions.  With  a  feature 
called  Electronic  Chalk  (similar  to 
PowerPoint's  John  Madden  tool), 
you  can  draw  on  slides. 

And  if  all  this  isn't  enough,  the 
program  ships  with  several  tem- 
plates and  an  electronic  tutorial 
to  help  get  you  started.  Technical 
support  is  free.  I  had  trouble  get- 
ting through  a  few  times,  but 
when  I  did,  the  help  I  received 
was  topnotch. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  373 

CA-CRICKET 
PRESENTS  1.5  FOR 
WINDOWS 

Presents  is  part  of  Computer 
Associates'  suite  of  economica! 
programs  in  the  CA-Cricket  line. 
At  $92,  it  costs  considerably  less 
than  most  of  the  other  programs 
reviewed  here.  While  not  as  pow- 
erful as  some  of  the  others,  it  is 
one  of  the  easiest  to  use  and  has 
enough  features  to  get  most  pres- 
entation tasks  done  admirably. 

This  program  provides  eight  dif- 
ferent chart  types  and  some  inter- 
esting 3-D  effects.  There  are  sev- 
eral professionally  done  tem- 
plates you  can  use  to  set  up  your 
presentations  quickly,  and  ten  ob- 
ject-oriented drawing  tools- 
squares,  rectangles,  ellipses, 
and  so  on — let  you  add  interest- 


We  look  terrific 
in  basic  black.. 


but  you'll  find  us 

equally  stunning 

in  color. 


THE  ALL-NEW  STAR  SJ- 1 44;  Star's  achievements  are 
impressive  in  black  and  white.  But  itrs  in  full  color  that 
they  really  dazzle.  Now  this  same  brilliance  can  be 


rougnt  to  your  documents  at  an  increaioiy  ar  roraanie 
rice  with  the  full  color,  laser-quality  Star  SJ- 1 44, 
Star's  all  new  SJ  - !  44  produces  vibrant  color  images 
far  better  than  any  ink  jet,  And  the 
SJ-144's  black  and  white  print  quality  is 
so  sharp  and  clean  it  actually  exceeds 
the  resolution  of  most  laser  printers  by 
20%.  In  fact,  the  SJ-144  is  more  than  a 
match  for  most  any 
laser  printer  in  every 
area  but  one:  price, 
Ata  MSRPofjust 
$599,*  the  SJ-144 
offers  greater  value 
than  any  other 
printer  available 
today.  For  a  free 
product  brochure 
and  the  dealer  nearest  you, 
ill  1-800-447-^' 


COMPU 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  203 


TEST  LAB 


QVCricket 

Presents 


ing  touches  to  your  slides. 

The  program  supports  a  wide 
range  of  graphics  files;  however, 
its  multimedia  support  is  lacking. 
It  does  not  support  sound  and 
animation,  which  means  that  you 
will  be  stuck  having  to  narrate 
and  to  add  your  own  sound  ef- 
fects. However,  if  you're  on  a 
budget  and  have  limited  time, 
you  may  not  care  about  multime- 
dia: It  takes  time  to  use  and  to 
master,  and  it  requires  enormous 
system  resources. 

If  you  don't  need  much  power 
and  want  to  save  a  few  hundred 
dollars,  Presents  runs  well  and  is 
easy  to  learn.  Technical  support 
is  easy  to  reach,  and  the  staff 
seems  well  trained.  Though  expen- 
sive for  the  features  it  offers,  this 
presentation  package  is  uncom- 
plicated and  easy  to  use. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  374 


COMPEL  1.0 


Compel  is  a  full-featured  presen- 
tation package  that  excels  at  multi- 
media. You  can  easily  create  inter- 
active presentations  that  can  be 
run  by  a  presenter  or  navigated 
by  a  viewer.  Some  of  the  key  fea- 
tures include  hyperlinking,  hot- 
words,  automatic  build  options, 
and  multiple  output  formats. 

Hyperlinking  allows  you  to  cre- 
ate links  between  graphics,  such 
as  buttons,  and  multimedia 
events  or  other  Windows  applica- 
tions. You  can  then  jump  be- 
tween linked  objects  simply  by 
clicking  on  them.  Hotwords  and 
bullets  allow  you  to  create  similar 
links  between  words  and  events 
or  bullets  and  events.  This  exten- 

24         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


CA-Cficket  Presents  1,5  (or 

Windows 

Suggested  retail  price:  S92 

COMPUTER  ASSOCIATES 
One  Computer  Associates  Plaza 
Islandia,  NY  11788-7000 
(BOO)  225-5224 


sive  hyperlinking  capability  lets 
you  create  highly  flexible  interac- 
tive presentations. 

Automatic  build  capabilities 
(found  in  several  packages  re- 
viewed here)  let  you  create  bullet 
builds  that  automatically  bring  in 
new  points  and  gray  out,  or  fade, 


previous  points.  With  Compel's 
ability  to  output  to  several  differ- 
ent media  types,  you  can  print  to 
slides,  overheads,  your  monitor, 
or  even  videotape.  However,  one 
of  the  more  versatile  output  op- 
tions is  Packaging,  which  allows 
you  to  compress  and  save  the 
presentation  to  multiple  floppies 
without  losing  OLE,  DDE,  and  hy- 
perlink pointers.  In  other  words, 
when  you  decompress  the  pres- 
entation on  another  machine,  the 
presentation  file  will  know  where 
to  find  all  your  sound,  animation, 
and  graphics  files. 

Compel  comes  with  over 
100MB  of  clip  media,  including 
over  100  sound  files  and  350  piec- 


Compel  1.0 

Suggested  retail  price:  $295 

ASYMETRIX 

110n0thAve.NE.Sle.  700 
Bellvue,  WA  90004 
[800)  448-0543 


SPEAK  UP! 

Is  there  a  group  of  hardware 

or  software  products  you'd 

like  to  see  covered  in  an 

upcoming  Test  Lab? 

Let  us  know  by 

calling  (900)  285-5239, 

(sponsored  by  Pure 

Entertainment, 

P.O.  Box  186T  Hollywood, 

California  90078).  The  call 

will  cost  95  cents  per 

minute,  you  must  be  18  or 

older,  and  you  must  use  a 

touch-tone  phone. 


es  of  clip  art,  and  it  supports 
most  multimedia  and  graphics  for- 
mats, including  AVI  and  Kodak 
Photo  CD.  There  are  also  more 
than  100  presentation  templates. 
Asymetrix  has  some  of  the 
best-trained  technical  support 
people  in  the  business.  I've  nev- 
er been  disappointed  or  left  with 
unanswered  questions.  While 
this  program  is  not  necessarily 
any  more  capable  than  some  of 
the  others  reviewed  here,  it's  cer- 
tainly a  good  one — and  this  is  on- 
ly a  first  version.  It  can  only  get 
better  from  here. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  375 


COMPEL 


Stunning  multimedia 
presentations  in  minutes 


You  donl  leave  your  house 
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So  why  leave  your  family — and  everything 
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Ignoring  life's  realities  can  open  the  door  to  disaster. 
So  be  prepared — and  put  the  law  on  your  side — with  a  valid 
will  from  It's  Legal;  software  that  provides  the  binding  legal 
documents  you  need  to  protect  yourself,  your  family  and  your 
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of  attorneys,  It's  Legal  documents  are  valid  in  49  states  and  D.C* 

Use  the  It's  Legal  Simple  WHIaw6  clearly  define  how  you  want 
your  property  divided  after  your  death.  Or  complete  the  Living 
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ers to  die  guardian  of  your  children.  Simplify  the  purchase  of  a 
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act  on  the  tough  question  of  life  support  with  the  Health  Care 
Power  of  Attorney... and  It's  Legal  includes  an  additional  36  docu- 
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One  Parsons  Dm  v.  PQ  Box  100,  Hunvatlht,  I A  522  AM)  100 
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Microsoft 


<t--iote 


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?IOti8  lad  ktoyattottf^&fo^cl  faults  iMAd 


WINDOWS  t •'■"■  mm*mM*m±m[tm* 

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Available  at  these  locations  and  other  leading  retailers: 

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Electronics  Boutique  Micro  Center  Babbages 

Software  Ect.  Fry's  Electronics 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  168 


TEST  LAB 


CORELDRAW!  4.0 

CorelDRAW!  is  not  a  dedicated 
presentation  program.  Instead, 
the  package  includes  a  suite  of 
graphics  applications  that  Corel 
calls  a  graphics  toolkit.  Two  of  the 
applications — CorelCHART!  and 
CorelSHOW!— provide  strong 
enough  presentation  capabilities 
to  warrant  inclusion  in  this  round- 
up. In  fact,  Corel DR AW !'s  wide 
range  of  options  for  graphics 
editing  and  handling  makes  it  a 
better  value  for  those  who  need 
only  occasional  presentations. 

For  $595,  you  get  a  full-featured 
vector  draw  program,  a  bitmap 
image  editor,  charting  and  on- 
screen presentations,  graphics  cat- 
aloging, a  screen  capture  utility,  an 
animation  module,  755  TrueType 
and  Type  1  fonts,  and  18,000  piec- 
es of  clip  art  and  clip  media.  How- 
ever, as  with  most  programs  that 
try  to  be  everything  to  everybody, 
CorelDRAW!  lacks  a  few  important 
features.  CorelDRAW!^  presenta- 
tion features  do  not  include  out- 
lining, speaker  notes,  or  audience 
handouts. 

With  the  graphics  toolkit,  you 
create  charts  in  CorelCHART!, 
drawings  in  CorelDRAW!,  and 
animation  in  CorelMOVEl;  then 
you  compile  your  presentation  in 
CorelSHOW!.  The  applications  in 
the  toolkit  are  tightly  linked 
through  OLE.  CorelCHART!  is  a 
very  respectable  charting  pro- 
gram that  sports  features  missing 
in  several  of  the  others,  such  as 
data  analysis  and  great  mouse  in- 


*B3 


%      Lotus 

26         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


CorelDRAW!  4.0 
Suggested  retail  price:  $595 

COREL 

IBOa  Carling  Ave.  Ottawa,  ON 

Canada  K1ZBR7 

(800)  835-3729 


teractivity.  With  the  Pop-Up  Menu 
tool,  for  example,  clicking  on  ob- 
jects brings  up  a  menu  that  lets 
you  perform  various  formatting 
functions  for  the  selected  object 
without  wading  through  numer- 
ous dialog  boxes.  Clicking  the 
right  mouse  button  on  chart  ele- 


ments, such  as  a  bar  or  pie  sec- 
tion, lets  you  reformat  the  chart  in 
several  ways,  including  reversing 
data  and  recoloring  bars  by 
series,  group,  face,  and  so  on. 

CorelSHOW!  is  a  highly  efficient 
OLE  client.  It  also  sports  several 
transition  effects  and  comes  with 
a  palette  of  predefined  back- 
grounds. A  supply  of  AutoDesk  An- 
imation FLI  files  is  also  included. 
CorelCHART!  has  a  few  buggy  ex- 
port filters,  which  Corel  says  it  is 
working  on.  CorelDRAW!  4,0  has 
had  such  a  tremendous  response 
that  I  found  it  practically  impossi- 
ble to  get  through  to  technical  sup- 
port, even  on  the  24-hour  line. 
Sometimes  you  have  to  wait  for 
technicians  to  call  you  back. 

These  few  problems  aside, 


Freelance  Graphics  tor  Windows  2.D 
Suggested  retail  price;  $395 

LOTUS  DEVELOPMENT 
1  Rogers  SI. 
Cambridge.  MA  02142 
(BOO)  3435414 


>.*§p 


CorelDRAW!  is  a  great  value,  no 
matter  what  type  of  graphics 
work  you  plan  to  do. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  376 

FREELANCE 
GRAPHICS  FOR 
WINDOWS  2.0 

Besides  being  a  very  powerful  pres- 
entation program,  Freelance  Graph- 
ics is  exceptionally  easy  to  use. 
The  idea  behind  the  program  is 
that  most  people  don't  do  presen- 
tations often;  they  do  them  at  the 
last  minute  and  don't  have  time 
(and  don't  want)  to  learn  and 
relearn  a  complicated  program. 
For  this  market,  Freelance  Graph- 
ics is  nearly  perfect. 

Presentations  are  created  in 
Freelance  Graphics  with  tem- 
plates called  SmartMasters.  Each 
group  of  masters  contains  several 
predefined  slides  set  up  to  receive 
text  and  graphics.  To  enter  text  or 
a  chart,  all  you  do  is  click  on  a  pre- 
defined portion  of  the  slide,  and 
the  appropriate  dialog  box  opens. 
In  other  words,  you  select  the  look 
(a  template),  choose  a  page  lay- 
out (one  of  11  styles,  including 
graph,  bulleted  list,  and  so  on), 


TORTURED 


EAR  PIERCING 


ANGUISHED 


sais 


NO ISES    FROM    THE 

SOUND   CARD  YOU 

JUST  BOUGHT? 

NO. 

FROM    YOUR 


Must  a  16-bit  state-of-the-art  sound  card  cost  an  arm,  a  leg  and  several  other  appendages?  Must  you  raid 
your  children's  college  fund  to  get  the  CD-quality  audio  supplied  by  32  Operator  Wavetable  Synthesis?  Must  you 
fork  out  a  sum  equal  to  the  GNP  of  a  small  European  nation  for  Sound  Blaster1*  compatibility  and  a  MIDI  interface? 
In  a  word,  no.  The  new  ARIA  16  offers  all  of  this,  plus  jumperless  installation  and  a  Digital  Signal  Processor  that  allows 
you  to  upgrade  to  speech  recognition,  for  the  oddly  level-headed  price  of  ?99.  Or,  for 
a  bit  more,  there's  the  ARIA  16se,  featuring  a  SCSI-2  interface,  a  mic/headset,  and  Inter- 
play's Star  Trek*:  25th  Anniversary™:  3  Episode  Edition  with  ARIA  speech  recognition. 
To  learn  more,  call  us  at  1-800-477-3473.  And  give  your 
ears  the  sound  they  want.  Without  ticking  off  your  wallet. 


Prometheus 


61994  PfQfrielheu*  Prpdutli  Inc.  All  Irademarks  are  properly  of  iheir  TSipatme  companies.  #&G  1993  Paramount  Plclurfli  All  Bight*  Reserved. 

STAR  TREK  u  a  Astfi Jt«re4  Trademark  of  Paramount  Picture!.  Pronietheuj  Authorized  User. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  169 


TEST  LAB 


a&_ 


Simply**1* 


and  then  fill  in  the  blanks. 

This  system  works  well,  and  it 
is  certainly  easy.  Freelance  Graph- 
ics is  great  for  getting  presenta- 
tions out  in  a  hurry,  And  a  wel- 
come option  that  nothing  else 
has  is  the  ability  to  run  screen 
shows  from  the  DOS  prompt  in- 
stead of  from  Windows.  There  is 
also  a  QuickStart  tutorial  that 
walks  you  through  the  basics  of 
creating  a  presentation. 

Users  of  other  Lotus  programs, 
such  as  Ami  Pro  and  1-2-3,  will 
find  the  Freelance  Graphics  inter- 
face very  comfortable.  The  pro- 
gram uses  the  same  Smartlcons 
metaphor.  You'll  also  find  it  easy 
to  use  Ami  Pro  outlines  and  1  -2-3 
data  to  create  your  presentations. 
The  three  applications  are  integrat- 
ed quite  masterfully. 

Lotus  is  a  big  company.  You'd 
think  that  its  support  lines  would 
be  swamped,  but  I've  never  had 
trouble  getting  help.  When  I 
called  technical  support  during 
this  review,  things  were  no  differ- 
ent. I  got  through,  and  my  ques- 
tions were  answered  nimbly.  This 
is  a  great  presentation  program. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  377 

HARVARD 
GRAPHICS  2.0 
FOR  WINDOWS 

Harvard  Graphics  is  another  pro- 
gram that  started  in  DOS.  In  fact, 
the  people  who  developed  Har- 
vard Graphics  for  DOS  wrote  the 
book  on  presentation  software. 


28 


COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


Harvard  Graphics  2.0  lor  Windows 
Suggested  retail  price:  $395 

SOFTWARE  PUBLISHING 

CORPORATION 

P.O.  BON  54083 

Santa  Clara,  CA  95056-0983 

(8001  336-8360 


The  first  Windows  version  was  a 
little  disappointing — it  had  a  clum- 
sy interface  and  lacked  a  few 
important  features.  Version  2.0  is 
a  vast  improvement  over  the  pre- 
vious version.  It's  much  easier  to 
use  and  sports  plenty  of 
interesting  features. 

Two  of  the  most  impressive  fea- 
tures in  Harvard  Graphics  are  a 
new  icon  bar,  similar  to 
Freelance  Graphics'  Smartlcons, 


and  the  Harvard  Graphics  Advi- 
sor, which  makes  choosing  the 
right  chart  easier  and  provides 
important  advice  for  creating  pres- 
entations. The  icon  bar  is  fully 
customizable — you  can  change 
options  easily.  The  Harvard  Graph- 
ics Advisor  provides  invaluable 
information  about  how  to  capture 
and  keep  an  audience's  attention 
and  the  differences  between  per- 
suasive and  informative  presenta- 
tions, as  well  as  a  wealth  of  other 
information  that  will  be  helpful  to 
most  occasional  presenters. 


HSC  Inter  Active  1,0 
Suggested  retail  price:  $295 

HSC  SOFTWARE 
1661  Lincoln  Blvd.,  Ste.  101 
Santa  Monica,  CA  90404 
1310)  392  8441 


Again,  most  people  don't  do 
presentations  every  day.  Hence, 
it's  easy  to  forget  how  to  use  the 
software.  The  5-Minute  Coach  fea- 
ture alleviates  this  problem.  It's  an 
interactive  tutorial  designed  to 
give  new  and  infrequent  users  a 
game  plan  (there  are  four  different 
plans)  for  building  a  basic  presen- 
tation. The  5-Minute  Coach  in- 
cludes a  presentation  overview 
and  three  task-driven  lessons.  Yet 
another  feature  designed  to  short- 
en the  learning  curve,  Advisor 
Quick  Tips,  helps  you  learn  how  to 
edit  the  appearance  or  content  of 
your  charts  quickly. 

Harvard  Graphics  is  a  strong 
application.  It  supports  both 
sound  and  animation  embed- 
ding. You  can  launch  other  appli- 
cations during  your  screen 
shows  and  even  jump  from  slide 
to  slide.  These  last  two  features 
help  you,  as  the  speaker,  to  illu- 
minate points  in  your  presenta- 
tion and  jump  ahead  or  back  to 
answer  audience  questions.  The 
ability  to  open  other  OLE-aware 
applications  allows  you  to  refer  to 
spreadsheets,  online  documents, 
reports,  and  so  forth  without  leav- 
ing or  closing  your  presentation. 
When  you  finish  your  reference, 
your  presentation  begins  where 
it  left  off. 

The  technician  I  talked  to  at 
SPC  was  friendly,  and  my  ques- 
tions were  answered  quickly  and 
courteously. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  378 


he  Best  Value  Collection  Ever 
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Desktop  Publishing 
Made  Easy  I 


The  Frugal  Desktop  Publisher 

Create  newsletters,  brochures,  ad  literature,  and  more  with  this 
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Instead  of  wasting  time  searching 

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Use  the  Masters'  famous  works  a* 
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Van  Gogh.  Monet.  Michaelangelo 
and  more!  Windows  bitmap  format. 
Guidebook  with  historical  info. 
Orctertem#B 


Make  Your 

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Lei  the  DTP  Col  lection  jazz  up  your 
documents  and  give  them  that  extra 
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100  new  pieces  of  clipart. 


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Each  package  contains  100+  ready- 
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with  DTP  Cartoon  Characters 

For  a  little  needed  humor  and  fun 
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Multimedia  Dino  Screen  Saver 

They're  back  —  this  time  on  your 
computer  screen;  Animated 
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corne  back  to  life  as  lively  screen 
savers  with  active  volcanoes. 
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Manage  DoubleSpace 
Compression  from  Windows 

Keep  DoubleSpace  running  at  top 
performance  with  new  DoubleSpace 
Ex  tensions. Tune  DoubleSpace's 
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from  Windows.  Review  and  monitor 
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,     ltem#   Title  Price 


Order  Toll  Free 
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Abacus 


Dept.  C3, 5370  52nd  Street  SE,  Grand  Rapids,  Ml  49512 

Phone:  (616)  698-0330  •  Fax:  (616)  698-0325 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  124 


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Or  mail  this  coupon  to:  Abacus,  5370  52nd  Street  SE,  Grand  Rapids,  Ml  49512 
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3  Yes,  please  rush  your  free  catalog  of  PC  books  and  software. 


Dept.C3 


TEST  LAB 


HSC  INTERACTIVE 
1.0 

HSC  InterActive  is  a  scaled- 
down  version  of  AimTech's  full- 
featured  multimedia  authoring  soft- 
ware, IconAuthor.  For  a  fraction 
of  the  price,  HSC  InterActive  pro- 
vides the  same  easy,  icon-based 
authoring  system,  minus  a  few 
powerful  (but  perhaps  superflu- 
ous) features,  such  as  variable 
handling  and  other  database- 
querying  functions. 

While  IconAuthor  works  best 
for  computer-based  training, 
HSC  InterActive  is  geared  more 
to  presentations — not  presenta- 
tions in  the  traditional  sense,  but 
interactive   multimedia  screen 


siH-a 


shows.  This  icon-based  ap- 
proach to  creating  presentations 
makes  HSC  InterActive  unlike 
any  other  program  in  Test  Lab. 

Perhaps  the  best  way  to  de- 
scribe the  process  of  creating 
presentations  in  HSC  InterActive 
is  icon-based  programming.  In- 
stead of  stringing  a  series  of 
slides  or  scenes  together,  you 
compile  presentation  elements 
by  linking  icons  along  a  flow 
chart.  The  icons  provide  a  visual 
representation  of  the  elements  in 
your  presentation  and  their  rela- 
tionships to  one  another.  Think  of 
this  process  as  programming 
with  pictures,  complete  with 
loops,  pauses,  if-thens,  and  so 
on.  There  are  icons  for  creating 
menus,  playing  sound  and  animat- 
ed sequences,  displaying 
bitmaps,  and  every  other  function 
the  program  supports. 

Elements  are  added  to  presen- 
tations by  dragging  icons  and 

30         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


Microgralx  Charisma  4.0  tor 

Windows 

Suggested  retail  price:  $495,  $H9 

for  upgrade 

MICROGRAM 
1303  E.  Arapaho  Rd, 
Richardson,  IX  75081 
(800)676-3110 


placing  them  into  the  flow  chart 
at  the  desired  locations.  Icons 
are  defined  by  double-clicking  on 
them.  At  first  this  process  seems 
strange,  but  the  tutorial  is  very 
good  and  explains  concepts  and 
procedures  quite  well.  Within  just 
a  few  minutes,  the  interface 
makes  perfect  sense. 

The  technical  support  people 
seem  to  know  their  product  inside 
and  out,  I  called  twice  and  spoke 
with  a  different  technician  each 
time;  neither  could  be  stumped. 
The  product  has  limitations, 
though;  there's  no  charting  capa- 
bility. You'll  have  to  bring  charts 
and  graphs  in  as  bitmaps  from  oth- 
er sources.  However,  an  upcom- 
ing version  will  have  charting. 

If  you're  looking  for  a  simple 
way  to  author  interactive,  multime- 
dia presentations,  this  icon- 
based  solution  is  easy  to  use  and 
versatile.  You'll  have  it  up  and  run- 
ning in  no  time.  Usually,  pro- 
grams this  simple  lack  features, 
but  this  one  doesn't  lack  much. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  379 

MICROGRAFX 
CHARISMA  4.0  FOR 
WINDOWS 

The  wait  is  over.  Finally,  Micro- 
grafx  has  upgraded  Charisma. 
The  previous  version  was  lagging 
behind;  however,  this  new  version 
leaps  out  to  take  a  well-deserved 
place  in  the  front  of  the  pack  with 
the  latest  versions  of  PowerPoint 
and  Harvard  Graphics. 

Designed  for  the  high-end  pro- 
fessional presenter  and  corpo- 
rate user,  this  program  provides 


3-D  charting  with  full  rotation  and 
light  source  adjustment  capabili- 
ties. In  other  words,  you  can  turn 
your  3-D  chart  in  any  direction 
and  control  the  way  simulated 
light  shines  on  the  various  3-D 
planes.  There  is  also  a  feature 
called  Visual  Galleries  that  allows 
you  to  choose  a  chart  style  you 
like  and  then  fill  in  your  own  data. 
This  makes  the  sometimes-com- 
plicated task  of  choosing  the  right 


I  j"*M  CB  3  Jil,j|  'J^M-^ZM:'  -— Jl  Zl> 


chart  for  the  data  much  easier. 

Charisma's  multimedia  sup- 
port is  quite  extensive.  Rather 
than  depending  on  Windows' 
OLE  (Object  Linking  and  Embed- 
ding) for  importing  clip  media,  the 
program  has  built-in  multimedia 
support.  You  can  loop,  clip,  and 
adjust  sound  levels  right  in  the  pro- 
gram. For  example,  you  can  ad- 
just the  length  and  volume  for  any 
MIDI,  WAV,  or  AVI  file  from  inside 
Charisma,  without  having  to  use 
another  utility. 

The  program  ships  with  several 
professionally  designed  tem- 
plates, called  Master  Styles,  that 
make  creating  effective  presenta- 


\m\M 


Now  moving  in  o  game  is  as  easy  as  thinking  about  it. 

(Only  CyberMan  moves  in  three  directions  (x,  y,  and  : 
and  three  rotations  (pitch,  yaw,  and  roll),  which  cor- 
relate directly  to  your  moves  inside  a  3-D  game;  you 
intuitive  movements  translate  literally  to  the  screen. 
It's  also  the  only  controller  with  tactile  feedback  that 
es  you  a  physical  part  of  the  game.  CyberMan  is  avail- 
i  now  at  vour  local  dealer,  or  call  1-800-732-2923. 


0 


M 


a 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  123 


The  Senseware"  Company 


'Twdnwrt'vfagfcBgftig^stefsdowts- 


TEST  LAB 


Aldus 

CA-Cricket 

SOFTWARE  FEATURES 

Action!  2,5 

Persuasion  2.1 

Bravo!  2.0 

Presents  1.5 

Compel 

CorelDRAW!  4.0 

Charting  Features 

Number  of  chart  types 

32 

12 

10 

8 

6 

46 

Number  of  predefined  charts 

■ 

0 

«:>7 

0 

34 

46 

Data  analysis 

no 

no 

no 

no 

yes 

yes 

Screen  Show  Options 

FLC.  FLI, 

Animation  files  supported 

MMM 

FLC.  FLI 

FLC.  FLI 

no 

FLC,  FLI 

FLC,  FU,  MMM 

Automatic  slide  builds 

no 

yes 

yes 

no 

yes 

no 

AVI. 

AVI, 

Digital  video  support 

QuickTime 

no 

QuickTime 

no 

QuickTime 

AVI.  QuickTime 

Onscreen  pointing 

no 

no 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

Onscreen  drawing 

no 

no 

yes 

no 

no 

no 

Remote  slide  shows 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

Run  screen  show  from  DOS 

no 

nc 

no 

yes 

no 

no 

CD  audio, 

CD  audio,. 

CD  audio,  MID. 

Sound  formats  supported 

MID.  WAV 

MID,  WAV 

no 

MID,  WAV 

WAV 

Number  of  transition  effects 

46 

16 

13 

14 

34 

23 

Speaker  Support  Tools 

Audience  handouts 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

no 

Printable  outline 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

NA 

NA 

Speaker  notes 

no 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

no 

Additional  Features 

Number  of  pieces  of  clip  art 

35 

100+ 

81 

100 

400 

18.000 

"Not  supported  in  screen  show 

8  3                          Jgb 

microsoft  PowerPoint  3.0 
Suggested  retail  price:  $495 

MICROSOFT 
POWERPOINT  3.0 

i*          Y 

MICROSOFT 

** 

^ 

One  Microsoft  Way 

A  little  over  a  year  ago,  Microsoft 

Redmond.  WA  98052-0399 

redefined  presentation  software 

\T 

(BOO)  426-9400 

with  the  release  of  PowerPoint 

1              *    ,♦.*, 

3.0.  Disappointed  users  of  ver- 

§s        ^r 

sion  2.0  did  a  double-take — this 

1    ^'  _ 

Expanded  transition  effects, 

vast  improvement  placed  Power- 

automatic build  options,  and  other 

Point  back  on  top  of  the  huge  pres- 

1   - « 

enhancements  make  onscreen 

entation  program  market. 

N  «g 

iTfllr 

4t 

presentations  much  easier  than  in 

PowerPoint  is  the  program  of 

1 

A  HA! 

I   II 

previous  versions  of  Charisma- 

choice  for  Word  for  Windows  and 

*/H 

JlVI 

\Jli   i  * 

Charisma  4,0  (like  many  recent 

Excel  users.  Wherever  possible. 

I  Y 

Micrografx  upgrades)  has  a  beauti- 

commands and  menu  structures 

ful,  friendly  interface  that's  easy 
and  a  joy  to  use.  The  program's 

are  the  same.  Not  only  can  you 
import  outlines  from  Word  for  Win- 

tions a  snap.  Simply  open  the  tem- 

power is  reached  through  simple 

dows,  complete  with  text  format- 

plate, type  in  your  text,  add  your 

icons  and  well-designed  menus. 

ting  and  topic  levels,  but  you  can 

graphics  and  clip  media,  and  let 

Best  of  all,  technical  support  is 

also  launch  screen  shows  from 

the  presentation  rip.  You  don't 

free  and  available  24  hours  a 

the  Word  for  Windows  outliner. 

have    to    worry    about    color 

day,  Monday  through  Friday.  The 

And  the  PowerPoint  outliner  is  WY- 

schemes, font  collaboration,  and 

technicians  are  enthusiastic  and 

SIWYG — you  can  format  the  text 

all  those  other  design  elements  we 

knowledgeable. 

in  your  slides  from  the  outiiner. 

nonartists  know  nothing  about. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  380 

The  PowerPoint  Viewer  feature 

32        CO 

MPUTE     \ 

1ARC 

H  1994 

Freelance 
Graphics  2.0 

Harvard 
Graphics  2  0 

HSC 
Interactive 

Micrografx 
Charisma  4,0 

Microsoft 
PowerPoint  3,0 

OMedia  1 2 

WordPerfect 
Presentations  2.0 

'D£ 

88 

:ja 

76 

84 

NA 

38 

10a 

88 

NA 

76 

100+ 

NA 

38 

yes 

yes 

NA 

yes 

yes 

NA 

yes 

FLC.  FLI,  MMM 

FLC.  FLI.  MMM 

FLI,  MMM 

FLC.  FLI 

FLC,  FLI 

FLI,  MMM 

FLC,  FLI,  MMM 

yes 

yes 

no 

yes 

yes 

NA 

yes 

AVI 
QuickTime 

AVI, 
QuickTime 

AVl.OVI 

AVI 

AVI,  QuickTime 

AVI,  DVI 

AVI,  QuickTime 

yes 

yes 

no 

yes 

yes 

no 

yes 

yes 

fBB 

no 

yes 

yes 

no 

yes 

yes 

yes 

no 

no 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

yes 

no 

nu 

no 

no 

no 

mo.WAV 

MID.WAV 

MID.WAV 

MID.WAV 

MID.WAV 

WAV 

CD  audio,  MID,  WAV 

32 

51 

11 

58 

45 

24 

33 

yes 

yes 

NA 

yes 

yes 

no 

yes 

yes 

no 

NA 

yes 

yes 

no 

yes 

yes 

yes 

NA 

yes 

yes 

no 

yes 

500 

b3ij 

24+ 

7000 

573 

100+ 

1000+ 

lets  you  see  transitions  before 
you  assign  them  to  slides.  You 
can  also  jump  from  slide  to  slide 
to    illuminate    points.    During 
screen  shows,  the  mouse  is  ac- 
tive for  pointing.  However,  if  you 
need  to,  you  can  also  draw  on 
slides  while  the  screen  show  is 
paused.  Microsoft  calls  this  fea- 
ture the  John  Madden  tool.  If  you 
make  electronic  presentations, 
you'll  surely  appreciate  it. 

PowerPointalso  supports  45  tran- 
sition effects,  which  is  a  great 
improvement  over  version  2.0. 

And  you  can  take  your  presenta- 
tions on  the  road  with  PowerPoint 
Viewer,  which  has  no  copyright 
restrictions  and  will  run  either  Mac 
or  PC  PowerPoint  presentations. 

Another  slick  new  feature  is  the 
Shape  tool.  Clicking  on  it  brings  up 
a  palette  of  common  shapes, 
such  as  arrows,  starbursts,  and  bal- 
loons. You  can  then  place  the 
shapes  on  your  slides  and  edit 
them  as  desired.  It's  even  possi- 
ble to  type  text  into  the  shapes 
and  let  PowerPoint  automatically 
center  it  and  lock  it  into  place.  In 
PowerPoint,  not  only  can  you 
change  printers  at  any  time,  but 
you  can  also  change  templates  in 
midstream,  and  the  entire  presen- 
tation reformats  accordingly. 

The  only  problem  worth  men- 
tioning is  that  slides  do  not  dis- 
play properly  in  Slide  Sorter 
view.  The  colors  distort,  often  to 
the  point  that  the  slides  look  com- 
pletely different.  According  to  a 

technician  at  Microsoft,  it  has 
something  to  do  with  the  removal 
of  pixels  during  the  reduction. 

PowerPoint  support  is  excellent. 
1  called  during  the  peak  business 
hours  and  got  through  at  once.  My 
questions  were  answered  prompt- 
ly and  efficiently.  If  you  need  a  full- 
featured  presentation  package, 
you  won't  find  one  any  more  com- 
plete than  PowerPoint.  It  is  certain- 
ly the  leader  in  the  features  race. 
A  new  version  may  be  available  by 
the  time  this  review  appears. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  381 

iiuL 

Q-MEDIA1.2 

> 

_  _  JLi—  AA 

ENCOBt  SALES  OBJECTIVES 

G-Media  looks  similar  to  Macrome- 
dia's Action !  and  operates  in  a  sim- 
ilar fashion;  however,  it  costs  sev- 
eral hundred  dollars  less.  For  the 
reduced  price,  you  give  up  sev- 
eral features,  such  as  a  built-in 
charting  module  and  royalty-free 

ltd 

ca 

o 

<>—.*  L.11 

runtime.  But  G-Media's  multime- 

MARCH  1994     COMPUTE        33 

TEST  LAB 


dia  prowess  is  second  to  none. 

Q-Media  is  a  scaled-down  ver- 
sion of  Q-Media  Professional,  a 
full-featured  multimedia  presenta- 
tion package  capable  of  creating 
interactive  courses  and  presenta- 
tions. If,  after  purchasing  Q- 
Media,  you  decide  the  program 
is  not  powerful  enough,  you  can 
upgrade  to  Q-Media  Profession- 
al at  a  reduced  rate. 

This  program  really  excels  in  its 
ability  to  accept  slides  from  other 
presentation  packages,  such  as 
PowerPoint  and  Persuasion.  Just 


create  one  or  more  slides  in 
another  package  and  import  them 
into  your  Q-Media  presentations. 

Like  Action!,  Q-Media  controls 
presentation  events  on  a  time  line, 
which  allows  you  to  manipulate  the 
duration  and  sequence  of  events 
graphically.  When  you're  placing 
sound  and  animation  files  in  a  pres- 
entation, this  is  a  perfectly  logical 
way  to  organize  them. 

Q-Media  ships  with  over  10MB 
of  clip  media  and  an  assortment  of 
templates  designed  for  business, 
training,  and  entertainment.  How- 
ever, since  media  clips  are  large — 
up  to  a  megabyte  for  a  few  sec- 
onds of  animation  or  film  strip — 


34         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


Q-Media  1.2 

Suggested  retail  price:  $99 

Q-MEDIA  SOFTWARE 
31 2  L  Fifth  Ave. 
Vancouver,  BC 
Canada  V5T1H4 
(8001  444-9356 


this  is  not  a  lot.  You  can  also  use 
clip  media  from  several  other  third- 
party  vendors  and  those  created 
by  other  packages,  such  as  Auto- 
Desk  Animator  or  Gold  Disk's  Ani- 
mation Works  Interactive.  Addition- 
ally, you  can  use  MIDI  sound  files, 
digital  video  (such  as  Microsoft  Vid- 
eo for  Windows  AVI  film  strips), 
and  CD  audio. 

While  this  program  is  not  as 
sophisticated  as  some  of  the  other 
full-featured  packages  reviewed 
here,  it  is  inexpensive  and  easy  to 
use.  You  should  consider  it  as  a 
multimedia  starter  kit,  rather  than  as 
a  one-stop  presentation  solution.  Q- 
Media  technical  support  is  free, 
and  I  received  friendly,  informed  re- 
sponses to  my  questions. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  382 

WORDPERFECT 
PRESENTATIONS  2.0 
FOR  WINDOWS 

WordPerfect  Presentations  is  a 
state-of-the  art  package  that's  in- 
geniously integrated  with  WordPer- 
fect for  Windows.  If  you're  a 
WordPerfect  user,  this  is  probably 
the  presentation  package  for  you. 
Moving  text  between  WordPer- 
fect documents  and  your  presen- 
tations is  a  snap.  Outlines  creat- 


WordPertecl  Presentations  2.0  tor 

Windows 

Suggested  retail  price:  $495 

(includes  scanner) 

WORDPERFECT 
1555  N.  Technology  Way 
Oram,  UT  84057-2399 
(800)  321-4566 


ed  in  WordPerfect  import  cleanly 
into  the  WordPerfect  Presenta- 
tions outliner  and  automatically  for- 
mat into  word  slides. 

This  program  provides  an  array 
of  tools  for  working  with  graphics, 
including  TWAIN-compliant  scan- 
ning, which  allows  you  to  scan 
images  directly  into  your  presenta- 
tions. You  also  get  a  paint  program 
for  working  with  bitmap  images 
and  a  vector  applet  for  editing  vec- 
tor, draw-type  graphics.  The  pro- 
gram's Master  Gallery  provides  an 


;.'■'    '      ' — ■— r-. —  i       ij.  irE  q      m  t 


extensive  collection  of  colorful 
slide  backgrounds  to  set  the  right 
mood  for  your  presentation,  and 
you  can  easily  adjust  colors  and 
other  effects. 

An  exciting  offer  from  WordPer- 
fect is  the  inclusion  of  a  Logitech 
ScanMan  hand  scanner.  For 
$495  you  get  a  great  presenta- 
tion package  and  a  ScanMan. 
This  is  a  great  deal! 

You  also  get  free  800-number 
support,  which  isn't  provided  for 
any  of  the  other  packages  re- 
viewed here.  WordPerfect's  sup- 
port people  are  friendly,  knowl- 
edgeable, and  very  helpful. 

Since  you  also  get  WordPer- 
fect quality,  you  really  can't  go 
wrong  with  this  program. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  383 


SL- 


fcWbrdfisfect 


Tv'Yor:  raiect 

Presknwkjns 


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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  195 


PROGRAMMING  POWER 


Tom  Campbel 


To  those  who 

enjoy  it,  it's  an 

unforgettable 

pleasure  worth  any 

number  of 

return  trips. 


MKSYACCAND 
TBASIC  FOR 
WINDOWS 

If  you've  read  this  column 
more  than  once,  you're  prob- 
ably a  pretty  inquisitive  per- 
son. At  one  point  or  another, 
you've  probably  asked  your- 
self what  it  takes  to  (gulp!)  cre- 
ate your  own  programming 
language. 

Compiler  writing  is  often 
thought  to  be  one  of  the  last 
black  arts  in  the  programming 
trade.  Even  though  anyone 
who  gets  a  degree  in  comput- 
er science  suffers  through  a  se- 
mester or  two  of  compiler  writ- 
ing, most  programmers  en- 
deavor to  forget  as  quickly  as 
possible  what  they  were  sup- 
posed to  have  learned  in 
those  classes. 

Creating  your  own  lan- 
guage is  like  drinking  port.  It's 
an  acquired  taste,  but  to 
those  who  enjoy  it,  it's  an  un- 
forgettable pleasure  worth  any 
number  of  return  trips.  I'm  one 
of  the  nut  cases  who  enjoy  writ- 
ing compilers  and  interpret- 
ers, and  I've  read  literally  eve- 
ry book  in  print  on  the  subject, 
not  to  mention  many  more 
now  out  of  print. 

Having  done  this  for  a  few 
years  now,  I  can  safely  assert 
that  almost  all  the  books  are 
way  off  the  mark.  Most  of 
them  require  that  you  write  the 
whole  compiler  by  hand,  omit- 
ting such  necessary  tools  as 
YACC  and  Lex,  and  few  of 
them  give  you  the  pleasure  of 
presenting  the  source  code  to 
a  complete  compiler.  Usually, 
the  really  good  stuff  is  left,  in 
a  phrase  I've  come  to  dread, 
as  "an  exercise  for  the  reader." 

Not  that  printing  the  source 
code  to  a  compiler  is  easy  to 
do.  For  one  thing,  it  can  take 
up  a  lot  of  valuable  editorial 
pages  that  the  publisher 
would  rather  see  devoted  to 
more    "substantial"    topics 


such  as  theory  and  exercises 
left  to  the  reader.  For  another, 
there's  always  a  big  problem 
in  deciding  what  the  target  ma- 
chine is.  Make  it  a  PC,  and 
you  leave  out  a  lot  of  college 
students  who  work  on  Suns 
and  VAXs. 

The  truth  is  that  when  I  had 
to  get  the  job  done  on  my  first 
compiler,  I  learned  more  from 
MKS  Lex  and  YACC  (Mortice 
Kern  Systems,  35  King  Street 
North,  Waterloo,  Ontario,  Can- 
ada N2J  2W9;  (519)  884- 
2251).  A  compiler  is  made  up 
roughly  of  these  parts.  The 
scanner  takes  the  individual 
characters  that  make  up  the 
program's  keywords  and  oth- 
er "lexical"  elements  (its 
words),  such  as  numbers, 
math  operators,  and  variable 
names.  It  converts  each  item 
into  an  integer  identifier  (such 
as  the  number  257  for  PRINT_ 
and  256  for  STRING,  in  the 
case  of  the  BASIC  line  PRINT 
"Hello,  world.").  It  also  associ- 
ates a  value  with  that  identifier, 
such  as  the  string  "Hello, 
world."  in  the  case  of 
STRING_.  (Often,  as  with 
PRINT,  no  such  value  is  need- 
ed.) The  scanner  normally  has 
little  knowledge  of  the  lan- 
guage and  will  cheerfully  ac- 
cept PRINT  CLS  WHILE  +  SE- 
LECT SELECT  as  valid  input. 
The  parser  takes  these  lexical 
elements  (viewing  them  as 
their  integer  identifiers)  and 
sees  that  they're  in  the  right  or- 
der. This  is  the  heart  of  the  com- 
piler and,  normally,  the  most  dif- 
ficult to  write.  The  parser  then 
adds  identifiers  such  as  varia- 
bles and  subroutines  to  the 
symbol  table,  and  it  generates 
code  or  returns  an  error  if  the 
parser  deems  the  input  pro- 
gram incorrect. 

What  do  the  oddly  named 
YACC  and  Lex  have  to  do 
with  this?  It  turns  out  that 
while  the  parser  is  incredibly 
tricky  to  get  right — without  au- 
tomated help  you  will  almost  al- 
ways create  a  language  with 


invalid  constructs — it  is  also 
quite  amenable  to  being  auto- 
mated. This  is  where  most  text- 
books get  it  completely 
wrong.  They'll  spend  two  or 
three  chapters  on  archaic  pars- 
ing theory,  then  provide  little 
or  no  real  code  to  illustrate 
their  outmoded  ideas.  What 
YACC  lets  you  do  is  create  a 
description  of  the  language  us- 
ing an  extended  version  of  the 
Backus-Naur  Form  you  often 
see  in  language  syntax 
charts,  and  it  creates  a  C  func- 
tion called  yyparse()  that 
does  all  the  hard  work  for  you. 
Oh— you  don't  like  C?  Then 
use  the  -LP  option  to  create  a 
Turbo  Pascal  routine!  Writing 
scanners  is  normally  less 
tricky,  but  that  also  can  be  au- 
tomated using  Lex.  Lex  gener- 
ates a  C  (or  Turbo  Pascal)  rou- 
tine called  yylexQ  that's  normal- 
ly called  by  yyparseQ. 

The  MKS  Lex  and  YACC 
manual  is  simply  the  best  ap- 
plied introduction  to  compiler 
writing  I've  ever  seen.  Starting 
with  a  simple  command  line  cal- 
culator, it  proceeds  to  a  C-like 
language  with  functions,  pro- 
cedures, local  and  global  var- 
iables, and  a  rich  set  of  con- 
trol structures.  It  has  both  an 
interpreter  and  a  compiler. 
The  only  thing  I  don't  like  is 
that  the  assembler  code  the 
compiler  generates  isn't  for  a 
PC,  but  for  an  imaginary  Mo- 
torola-like processor.  Using 
YACC  and  Lex  isn't  easy,  but 
this  tutorial  is  great.  If  you're  will- 
ing to  spend  a  few  months 
studying,  you  can  come  out 

with  the  beginnings  of  your 
own  homemade  language,  in 
Turbo  Pascal  or  ANSI  C! 

I've  posted  a  grammar  for 
an  interpreter  called  Tiny  Ba- 
sic for  Windows  in  the  file  TBA- 
SIC??.ZIPt  where  ??  stands  for 
a  version  number  such  as  10 
for  version  1 .0  or  21  for  version 
2.1 .  It  has  the  C  and  Turbo  Pas- 
cal source  code  for  everything 
you  need  to  get  your  own  lan- 
guage going.  n 


38        COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  161 


TIPS  &  TOOLS 


Edited  by  Richard  C.  Leinecker 


One  more 

once-a-day  solution, 

gleaning 

precious  memory, 

and  a  README 

scheme  for  the 

masses 


Once  a  Day 

I've  read  several  suggestions 
for  batch  files  that  execute  on- 
ly once  a  day  ("Feedback," 
April  and  September  1993).  i 
have  one  to  offer  that's  both 
simpler  and  more  versatile 
than  the  programs  in  these 
columns.  It's  called  CHECK- 
DT.BAT,  and  it  calls  ONCE- 
DAY.  BAT  once  a  day.  (Edi- 
tor's note:  An  indented  line  is 
a  continuation  of  the  preced- 
ing line.) 

@ECH0  OFF 

REM  Save  today's  date  to  the 
REM  file  CURRDT.TXT. 
ECHO.  I  DATE  > 
CURRDT.TXT 

REM  Firsl,  check  to  see  if  the  REM 
file  called  LASTDT.TXT 
REM  even  exists. 
REM  If  it  doesn't,  that  means 
REM  it  was  never  created. 
REM  Therefore,  this  must  be 
REM  the  first  time 
REM  this  batch  file  has  run. 
IF  NOT  EXIST  LASTDT.TXT 
GOTO  NEWDAY 

REM  Create  the  QBASIC 
REM  program  that  will 
REM  compare  the  lines  in 
REM  the  CURRDT.TXT  and 
REM  LASTDT.TXT  files. 
ECHO  OPEN  "CURRDT.TXT" 

FOR  INPUT  AS  #1  > 

DATECOMP.BAS 
ECHO  INPUT  #1,  CURR$» 

DATECOMP.BAS 
ECHO  CLOSE  #1» 

DATECOMP.BAS 
ECHO  OPEN  "LASTDT.TXT" 

FOR  INPUT  AS  #1» 

DATECOMP.BAS 
ECHO  INPUT  #1,  LAST$» 

DATECOMP.BAS 
ECHO  CLOSE  #1» 

DATECOMP.BAS 
ECHO  IF  LASTS  =  CURR$ 

THEN  »  DATECOMP.BAS 
ECHO  OPEN 

"SAMEDATE.TXT"  FOR 

OUTPUT  AS  #1» 

DATECOMP.BAS 
ECHO  CLOSE  #1  » 

DATECOMP.BAS 


ECHO  END  IF  » 

DATECOMP.BAS 
ECHO  SYSTEM  » 

DATECOMP.BAS 

REM  If  the  file 
REM  SAMEDATE.TXT  exists, 
REM  then  the  current  date  is 
REM  the  same  as  the  last 
REM  date  that  was  stored. 
REM  The  QBASIC  program 
REM  creates  this  file  when  it 
REM  runs  if  the  comparison 
REM  is  the  same.  We  must 
REM  delete  the  file  before 
REM  calling  the  QBASIC 
REM  program. 
IF  EXIST  SAMEDATE.TXT 

DEL  SAMEDATE.TXT 
QBASIC  /RUN  DATECOMP 
IF  EXIST  SAMEDATE.TXT 

GOTO  SAMEDAY 

:NEWDAY 

REM  Copy  today's  date  file  to 
REM  the  file  that  stores  the 
REM  date  for  later  comparison. 
COPY  CURRDT.TXT  LASTDT.TXT  > 
NUL 

REM  Here  we  call  the  batch 
REM  file  that  does  your  once- 
REM  a-day  chores. 
CALL  ONCEDAY.BAT 

:SAMEDAY 

IF  EXIST  DATECOMP.BAS 
DEL  DATECOMP.BAS 

LEE  KASNER 
PALM  HARBOR,  FL 


Precious  Memory 

Here  are  a  couple  of  memory- 
saving  tips  I  thought  your  read- 
ers could  use. 

Unless  you  actually  need  it, 
don't  include  SETVER.EXE  in 
your  CONFIG.SYS  file.  You 
can  find  out  which  programs 
it's  looking  for  by  typing 
setver  at  the  DOS  prompt 
with  it  loaded.  If  you're  not 
planning  to  run  any  of  the  pro- 
grams you  see,  take  it  out  of 
CONFIG.SYS  to  save  400 
bytes.  It  doesn't  sound  like 
much,  but  it  might  be  just 
what  you  need. 


If  you  use  Windows,  don't 
load  a  mouse  driver  from  CON- 
FIG.SYS or  AUTOEXEC.BAT. 
Windows  loads  its  own 
mouse  driver,  and  you  won't 
need  the  DOS  driver  unless 
you  run  a  DOS  application 
that  supports  a  mouse.  Not 
loading  a  DOS  mouse  driver 
will  save  about  14K. 

BRUCE  SHERMAN 
PRESCOTT,  AZ 

Easy  README  Files 

In  the  September  issue  of 
COMPUTE,  there  was  a  tip 
that  showed  how  to  make  a 
file  read  itself.  I  don't  enjoy  typ- 
ing out  lengthy  Debug  files, 
so  here's  my  simple  solution. 
First,  create  your  READ- 
ME.TXT  file;  then  type  the  fol- 
lowing lines  from  the  com- 
mand line. 

COPY  CON  README.BAT 

©ECHO  OFF 

TYPE  README.TXT  I  MORE 


The  AZ  is  performed  by 
pressing  F6  and  Enter.  There 
you  have  the  easy  way  to  cre- 
ate a  README  file.  It  can't 
scroll  or  display  in  different  col- 
ors, though. 

ERIC  FONG 
ADDRESS  UNKNOWN 

4D0S  Fairness 

In  response  to  Scott  Sumner's 
submission  regarding  track- 
ing unauthorized  booting  of 
his  system  by  other  employ- 
ees ("Tips  &  Tools,"  October 
1993),  his  suggestion  unfairly 
discriminates  against  users  of 
4DOS.  Therefore,  I'm  submit- 
ting an  equivalent  method  of 
tracking  system  boots  for 
4DOS  users.  Just  make  these 
three  lines  the  first  three  lines 
of  your  AUTOEXEC.BAT  file. 

©ECHO  OFFAATTRIB  -rh 

LASTBOOT  >  NUL 
ECHO  Booted  up  on  %_date%, 

%_time.»  LASTBOOT 


40         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


New  Version  2.0!  Choose  DOS  or  Windows. 


( 


love  itV 

**^  Up  hid  out  in  any 

conce'Va*ctomcMamgem«u 


Susan  Ye^H  Sullivan 
San  Diego,  ("A 

Why  is  QuickBooks  #1?  Word  of  Mouth. 

It's  the  #1  selling  bookkeeping  software  for 
small  business  people.  Its  the#l  recommenda- 
tion from  retailers.  And  most  importantly,  it's 
#1  with  users. 

Because  QuickBooks"  is  so  easy,  you  don't 
even  need  to  know  a  debit  from  a  credit.  If 
you  know  how  to  write  checks  and  invoices, 
you  know  how  to  use  QuickBooks.  Just  fill  in 
the  familiar  forms  on  the  screen  and  it  does 
all  your  bookkeeping  for  you.  Invoicing  and 
accounts  receivable.  Check  writing  and 
accounts  payable.  Plus  all  the  financial  reports 
you  need  to  manage  more  profitably. 

And  it's  fast.  For  instance,  it  finishes  any 


repeat  entry  for  you  as  soon  as  you  start  typ- 
ing. Add  Quick  Pay"  and  you  have  complete 
payroll,  too. 

It's  also  easy  to  tailor  QuickBooks  to  your 
business.  Simply  choose  from  a  list  of  busi- 
ness types  and  then  customize  the  settings 
and  reports  as  much  as  you  want. 

"Extraordinarily  easy  to  use,  yet  provides 
plenty  of  accounting  power."  PC  Magazine 

"QuickBooks  is  the  easiest."  New  York  Times 

"A  great  program  if  you're  more  interested 
in  running  your  small  business  than 
becoming  an  accountant."  PC  World 

Now  we'll  look  forward  to  hearing  the 
word  from  you. 


New  Version  2,01 
lioose  DOS  or  Windows- 


Try  New  QuickBooks 

For  Only  $8.00! 

Pay  only  shipping  and  handling  now  to  try 
QuickBooks.  If  you  decide  to  keep  using  it 

after  30  days,  pay  just  $99. 

Otherwise,  it's  yours  free. 

Call  1-800-624-8742 

to  order  24  hours  a  day,  7  days  i  week. 
Add  QuickPay  to  your  order  for  just  §59,95.  (QuickPay  not 

available  in  Canada.)  Credit  card  orders  only. 

Please  have  your  card  ready.  Offer  for  first  time  users  only. 

International  shipping  extra. 

Expires  6/30/94  Ad  Code:  CM3HK 

System  requirement*  DOS:  IBM  compatible  PC,  64CK  RAM,  [X)S  3.0  or 
higher,  and  1,2  MB  free  m  bird  disk.  Windows:  IBM  conipiiiblc  PC,  386 
Of  higher,  2MB  RAM  minimum  (4MB  recommended),  Windows  j.l  or 
higher,  8MB  free  on  h:ird  disk.  QuiekB^>k*  us  a  registered  trademark  ot 
Intuit.  Quick  Pay  i.n  a.  trademark  vi  Intuit.  'Intuit  1991 


TIPS  &  TOOLS 


A  4DOS  system 

sleuth,  keeping  your 

mouse  and  screen 

clean,  and  a  no-type 

approach  to 

Debug  scripts 


ATTRIB  +rh  LASTBOOT  >  NUL 

Using  the  >  NUL  redirec- 
tion for  the  Attrib  commands 
suppresses  the  display  that 
lets  people  know  that  file  attrib- 
utes are  being  changed.  This 
tip  could  also  be  used  for 
Ndos,  packaged  with  newer 
versions  of  Norton  Utilities. 

Editor's  note:  In  the  review 
of  these  comments  in  relation 
to  the  tip  mentioned  in  the  Oc- 
tober 1993  issue,  two  correc- 
tions that  need  to  be  made  to 
that  tip  were  noted.  The  lines 
REM  ATTRIB  +h  LOGTRAIL- 
.TXT  and  REM  DEL  CUR- 
RENT?.BAT  should  have  the 
REM  command  removed 
from  the  beginning,  leaving 
the  remainder  of  the  line. 

KEN  SIMMONS 
AUBURN.  WA 

Mouse  Mash 

If  you  ever  notice  that  your 
mouse  doesn't  move  the  cur- 
sor on  the  screen  exactly  as  it 
should,  it's  probably  time  to 
clean  it.  Follow  these  steps 
and  be  careful  not  to  let  your 
mouse  bite  you. 

Make  sure  you  have  cotton 
swabs  and  a  lint-free  cloth. 
Turn  off  your  computer.  (You 
might  want  to  unplug  the 
mouse  just  so  it's  easier  to 
get  to.)  If  it  has  a  cover,  re- 
move it.  Turn  the  mouse  up- 
side down. 

Remove  the  ball  housing  ei- 
ther by  pressing  the  bottom 
and  unlatching  the  cover  or 
by  turning  it  counterclock- 
wise. If  neither  of  these  ap- 
proaches works,  check  your 
manual.  It  shouldn't  be  too 
hard  to  get  it  open. 

Once  the  mouse  is  open,  re- 
move the  ball.  Use  a  clean, 
iint-free  cloth  to  clean  it. 

Now  use  cotton  swabs  to 
clean  the  inside  parts  of  the 
mouse.  Gently  run  the  swab 
around  the  rollers.  You  may 
see  a  dark  film  on  the  rollers. 
If  you  do,  make  sure  you  re- 
move it  all. 


Reinsert  the  ball  and  re- 
place the  ball  housing.  Use 
the  clean  cloth  to  clean  the 
mouse  case.  Cleaning  the 
work  area  upon  which  you 
place  the  mouse  might  pre- 
vent the  mouse  from  getting 
dirty  again  soon.  An  all-pur- 
pose cleaner  works  well;  just 
make  sure  the  surface  is  dry 
and  all  remnants  of  cleaning 
agents  are  gone  before  plac- 
ing the  mouse  on  it. 

If  you  unplugged  the 
mouse,  plug  it  back  in.  You 
should  be  ready  to  go.  Repeat- 
ing this  procedure  once  a 
month  will  keep  your  mouse 
clean  and  operating  properly. 

LUKE  STRATTON 
GUM  SPRING,  VA 

Clean  Screens 

I  have  found  that  dryer 
sheets  not  only  keep  clothes 
soft  and  free  of  static  cling 
but  are  also  great  for  dusting 
off  monitor  screens.  They 
pick  up  dust  and  help  reduce 
static  electricity.  Used  ones 
work  fine  (probably  even  bet- 
ter than  unused  ones,  since 
there  isn't  any  fragrance  to 
leave  residue  on  the  screen). 
Use  caution  if  you  have  an 
antiglare  screen,  since  the 
coating  might  get  scratched  if 
you  use  too  much  pressure. 

MATT  PARSONS 
RED  BLUFF,  CA 

Scan  Those  Debug  Scripts 

In  the  September  issue  you 
ran  a  program  for  a  file  that 
reads  itself.  Although  I'd  nev- 
er tried  anything  like  this,  it 
was  too  good  to  pass  up.  My 
wife  was  away,  so  there  was 
no  one  to  call  out  the  num- 
bers. I  wear  bifocals  and  am 
a  lousy  typist  to  boot,  so  I  de- 
cided to  scan  the  article. 
Once  it  was  scanned,  I  ran  it 
through  OCR  software  (Per- 
ceive), picked  it  up  in  a  text 
editor,  and  erased  the  parts 
in  italic  and  other  spurious 
characters.  I  saved  it  to  a  file 
and  ran  it  through  Debug. 


It  worked  like  a  charm.  Oth- 
er readers  with  hand  scan- 
ners may  not  have  thought  of 
this.  Luckily,  I  recently  saw  in- 
structions for  setting  up  and 
running  a  file  like  this  through 
Debug. 

Editor's  note:  Here's  a  re- 
peat of  how  to  run  a  text  file 
containing  one  of  these 
scripts  through  Debug. 

Type  in  the  script  exactly 
as  it  appears  in  the  maga- 
zine. Don't  type  in  the  initial 
lines  such  as  debug  file.com 
and  File  not  found,  though. 
Omit  any  hyphen  or  colon  (- 
or :)  characters  that  appear  at 
the  beginning  of  a  line.  Omit 
the  lines  that  say  CX  0000 
and  Writing  XXXX  bytes. 

Your  script  text  file  should 
look  something  like  this.  I 
took  the  Clkey  program  and 
created  this  file  called 
CLKEY.  LST 

e  100  b4  01  ctf  16  74  06  2a  e4 

e  108  cd  16  eb  14  b4  4c  cd  21 

RCX 

10 

W 

Q 

The  last  thing  you  need  to 
do  is  type  from  the  command 
line  or  create  a  batch  file  that 
performs  the  following  set  of 
operations. 

TYPE  CLKEY. LST  I  DEBUG 
CLKEY.COM 

JOE  M.  WOLFF 
NARROWSBURG,  NY 


if  you  have  an  interesting  tip 
that  you  think  would  help  oth- 
er PC  users,  send  it  along 
with  your  name,  address,  and 
Social  Security  number  to 
COMPUTE'S  Tips  &  Tools, 
324  West  Wendover  Avenue, 
Suite  200,  Greensboro,  North 
Carolina  27408.  For  each  tip 
we  publish,  we'll  pay  you  $25- 
$50.  All  tips  submitted  be- 
come the  property  of  General 
Media  international.  O 


42         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


Linda  Bordelon,  Dress  Shop  2.0  owner,  Longwood,  Florida 

The  Bestselling  Sewing  Software  has  just  Gotten  Better!  Announcing  DRESS  SHOP  2.0,  which  offers  a 
complete  custom  fit  in  minutes.  Now  with  exciting  new  design  options  for  creating  hundreds  of  style  variations. 

IT'S  EASY  AS  PIE! 

First,  get  someone  to  help  take  your  measurements.  Next, 
load  DRESS  SHOP  2.0  into  your  computer  and  type  in  your 
measurements.  Select  the  pattern,  and  the  options  you  want. 
A  cuffed  shirt  sleeve?  No  problem.  A  V-neck  —  how  deep? 
Want  a  pointed  collar  or  a  Peter  Pan?  The  program  will  fit 
the  collar  to  the  neckline  you  just  designed.  Then  just  turn  on 
your  printer,  and  print. 

BE  YOUR  OWN  DESIGNER! 

Mix  and  match  more  than  40  ready-made  patterns.  Sleeves, 
necklines,  collars,  pleats,  cuffs,  waistbands  all  included! 
Specify  the  ease  you  want  in  each  garment  -  you  can  wear 
your  clothes  from  skin-tight  all  the  way  to  extra  baggy.  It's 
the  next  best  thing  to  being  a  professional  designer! 

For  MS-DOS  and  Mocintosh  computers.  Works  with  any  printer,  single  sheet  or 
troctor  feed,  narrow  or  wide  carriage. 

"I've  never  had  a  pants  pattern  that  really  fit  my  body  until 
I  started  using  Dress  Shop  2,0." 

Helen  Parkinson,  Benoit,  Mississippi 

"I  enjoy  sewing  again  instead  of  dreading  all  the 
alterations/7 

Tricio  Domewood,  Independence,  Kansas 


DRESS  SHOP  2.0  c&  cuuUiaMe  at  tpuwtf  aofavwie  and  fa&Uc  4tone&  ttatcortzvtde. 

■  DRESS  SHOP  2.0  $1  29.95  Stand-alone  program  contains  ail  patterns,  including  the  "Basic  Four". 

■  DRESS  SHOP  2.0  Basic  Four  $79.95  Stand-alone  program  contains  Bodice,  Pants,  Skirt  &  Dress,  plus  sleeves,  collars,  neckline  choices,  etc. 

■  Individual  Patterns  $29.95  Each  stand-alone  program  contains  a  single  pattern,  plus  options  for  sleeves,  collars,  waistbands,  as  appropriate. 

To  order:  send  a  check  or  money  order  in  U.S.  funds,  plus  shipping  and  handling  ($6  for  48  states;  $14  for  Alaska, 
Hawaii,  Puerto  Rico,  Virgin  Islands,  Canada,  Mexico;  $28  all  other  foreign).  California  residents  add  7.25%  sales  tax. 

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UVINGSOFT  P.O.  Box  970  Janesville,  CA  961 14-0970  I  LIFETIME  MONEY-BACK  GUARANTEE 

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*  ■  operate  correctly  on  your  computer,  or  your  money  backJ 

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©1 993  LivingSoft,  Inc.  Dress  Shop  and  LivingSoft  are  registered  trademarks  of  LivingSoft,  Inc.  Packaging  and  advertising  designed  by  Lori  LeBoy  Design  Studio,  Los  Angeles 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  165 


HARDWARE  CLINIC 


Mark  Minasi 


Because  ef 

SCSI-2,  SCSI  has 

been  forced  te 

become  downright 

elegant 


SCSI:  ASSEMBLING 
THE  PIECES 

Here  are  the  six  steps  you 
should  follow  in  putting  togeth- 
er a  SCSI  system. 

1.  Choose  and  install  a  SCSI 
host  adapter. 

2.  Choose  a  SCSI-compatible 
peripheral  (or  peripherals). 

3.  Select  a  unique  SCSI  ID  for 
each  peripheral  that  you're 
about  to  install. 

4.  Install  the  SCSI  peripherals, 
being  careful  to  terminate 
the  SCSI  chain  properly. 

5.  Install  the  SCSI  host  adapt- 
er's device  driver. 

6.  Install  device  drivers  for 
each  peripheral,  taking 
care  that  the  peripheral  de- 
vice drivers  are  all  compat- 
ible with  the  SCSI  host 
adapter's  device  driver. 

The  SCSI  host  adapter  is 
the  circuit  board  that  acts  as 
the  intermediary  between  the 
CPU  and  all  of  the  devices  on 
the  SCSI  chain.  As  the  host 
adapter  spends  much  of  its 
time  playing  messenger, 
you'd  be  wise  to  choose  a 
swift,  well-designed  adapter. 

The  first  question  to  ask  is, 
"Is  this  adapter  supported  by 
a  lot  of  software?"  Ask  the  ven- 
dor if  drivers  for  SCO  UNIX,  So- 
laris, OS/2  2.1,  Windows  NT 
3.1,  DOS,  and  Windows  are 
currently  being  shipped.  The 
answer  should  be  "Of 
course,"  rather  than  "Soon," 
Even  if  you  don't  intend  to  use 
these  operating  sys- 
tems— very  few  people  will 
need  all  of  them — you  want  to 
be  sure  that  the  vendor  will  pro- 
vide drivers  for  future  releases 
of  DOS  and  Windows,  partic- 
ularly Windows  4.0,  which  will 
not  require  DOS. 

Next,  look  for  the  architec- 
tural hallmarks  associated 
with  speed.  You  can  buy 
SCSI  host  adapters  that  work 
with  an  8-bit  ISA  bus,  a  16-bit 


ISA  bus,  a  Micro  Channel  bus 
in  16-  or  32-bit  modes,  an 
EISA  bus  in  32-bit  mode, 
and  even  a  32-bit  VESA  local 
bus.  I  highly  recommend 
buying  EISA-bus  PCs  these 
days,  as  the  EISA  bus  no  long- 
er costs  a  $1,000  premium.  If 
you  have  an  EISA-bus  PC, 
then  get  an  EISA  32-bit  SCSI 
host  adapter;  you'll  see  a 
startling  difference  in  speed 
resulting  in  smoothness  in 
animation. 

A  former  colleague  of  mine, 
Rob  Oreglia,  once  told  me 
that  when  he  purchased  his 
multimedia  system,  he  took 
along  a  copy  of  National  Geo- 
graphic^ Mammals,  an  educa- 
tional video  that  includes 
some  motion  scenes.  As  the 
program  is  DOS-based  and 
runs  on  any  VGA  monitor,  it 
was  a  snap  to  pop  it  into  a  test 
machine  and  run  it.  He  said 
that  he  used  it  as  a  bench- 
mark— if  he  saw  any  jerkiness 
in  the  animation,  he  wouldn't 
buy  the  system. 

Another  feature  to  look  for  is 
bus  mastering.  You  probably 
know  of  DMA  (Direct  Memory 
Access),  whereby  a  circuit 
board  can  get  data  into  RAM 
very  quickly  by  simply  bypass- 
ing the  CPU.  DMA  has  been 
around  for  quite  some  time, 
and  many  peripherals  use  it. 
But  while  DMA  allows  a  periph- 
eral to  write  data  straight  to 
RAM  or  read  data  straight 
from  RAM,  there  is  no  way  to 
move  data  directly  from  periph- 
eral to  peripheral.  That's  the  val- 
ue of  bus  mastering.  Bus  mas- 
tering is  a  kind  of  enhanced 
DMA,  offering  the  ability  not  on- 
ly to  transfer  data  to  and  from 
RAM,  but  also  to  move  data  di- 
rectly from  peripheral  to  periph- 
eral. For  example,  it  would  be 
nice  to  be  able  to  do  a  back- 
up from  disk  to  tape  in  the  back- 
ground, without  disturbing  the 
CPU.  If  both  the  tape  drive 
and  the  disk  drive  are  on  bus 
master  controllers  or — even 
better — if  both   are  on   the 


same  SCSI  host  adapter,  then 
it's  a  simple  matter  to  move 
the  data  around  without  the 
CPU's  being  involved  except 
in  only  the  most  indirect  way. 

Expect  to  pay  more  for  high- 
er speeds,  as  always.  Looking 
at  the  Adaptec  product  line  as 
an  example,  for  about  $125 
(street  price)  you  can  buy  a  16- 
bit  ISA  card  called  the 
Adaptec  AHA1522,  which 
does  normal  DMA.  For  $250 
you  can  move  up  to  bus  mas- 
tering with  the  AHA1542C.  Is 
the  1542C  worth  twice  the 
price  of  the  1522?  In  my  expe- 
rience it  is,  but  if  you  can't  af- 
ford a  1542C,  then  get  a  1522, 
because  a  DMA-based  SCSI 
is  better  than  no  SCSI  at  all.  Be- 
sides, once  you  have  a  sys- 
tem set  up  on  one  SCSI  host 
adapter,  then  it's  relatively  sim- 
ple to  change  the  system  over 
to  another  host  adapter  card 
later.  In  fact,  if  your  new  SCSI 
host  adapter  supports  the 
same  software  standards  as 
your  old  SCSI  host  adapter, 
you  won't  have  to  get  new  driv- 
ers for  any  of  the  peripherals. 
You'll  need  a  new  driver  only 
for  the  new  host  adapter. 

Continuing  up  the  price 
scale,  the  EISA  offering  from 
Adaptec,  the  AHA1742,  will 
set  you  back  $500.  It's  worth 
the  money,  assuming  that  you 
can  afford  to  spend  that  much 
on  a  peripheral  adapter 
board.  You'll  probably  decide 
to  stay  with  the  1542C  for 
most  workstations  and  put  the 
1742  on  your  servers  or  pow- 
er workstations.  The  prices 
mentioned  here  include  the  op- 
tional software  kit  that  includes 
the  software  for  the  host  adapt- 
er and  a  suite  of  common 
SCSI  peripheral  types. 

You  may  end  up  not  using 
that  software  if  you  have  tape 
drives  or  scanners — peripher- 
als that  not  every  suite  of 
SCSI  support  software  will  con- 
trol— on  your  SCSI  bus.  Con- 
sult with  the  host  adapter's  ven- 
dor before  buying. 


44         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


Now  Entering  SimCity  2000 


Beneath  the  polished  facade 
lies  a  seething  cauldron  of 
angry  taxpayers,  broken  water 
mains  and  other  chal- 

More  SimCity  flavor — less  salt. 

The  desalinization  plant  pumps    lengeS   that  will  take 

fresh  water  into  pipes  you  lay  in 

the  new  underground  level.        you    Uptown,    down- 


town,  even  underground.  Now  entering 
SimCity  2000 — the  ultimate  city  simulator. 


This  long-awaited 
follow-up  to  our  software  land- 
mark, SimCity?"  makes  simulat- 
ed real  estate,  in  a  word, 


Stop  the  presses!  2000  comes 
complete  with  a  daily  paper 
that  may  have  you  wanting  to 
repeal  the  first  amendment. 


realer.  In  it,  you  get  multiple 

viewing  angles.  You  get  to 

import  your  old  SimCities.  You 
get  to  terraform  your 
landscape.  You  get 
total  control  of  a  sub- 
terranean web  of  water  pipes  and  sub- 
ways. And  you  get  it  all  in  gripping, 
eye-imploding  3-D. 


Take  a  byte  out  of  crime. 

Build  SimPrisons — along 

with  SiynHospitals,  SimSchoah 

and  other  city  SimServices. 


So  pack  up  those  old  programs  and  move  to  SimCity 
2000.  Everything  that  started  the  SimCity  revolu- 
tion. In  a  vivid  new  evolution. 


The  Ultimate  City  Simulator. 


m[    x  is 


Available  for  IBM  PC  &  compatibles  and  Macintosh.  ©  1993  Sim-Business,  All  rights  reserved  SimCity  2000  is  a  trademark  of  Sim-Business.  \hixisand  SimCity 
are  registered  trademarks  of  Sim-Business.  For  product  or  ordering  information,  contact  your  local  retailer  or  call  1-800-33-MAXIS. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  158 


THE  GREAT  TR 


Yf  our  powers  of  perception  and 
the  motivation  to  tackle  a 
challenge  are  your  keys  to 
winning  one  of  the  fabulous  prizes 
described  on  these  pages.  Just 
contemplate  the  riches  that  await  you. 

The  all-new  Chevy  Camaro 
Convertible.  Standard  features 
include:  four-wheel  anti-lock  brakes, 
driver  and  passenger-side  air  bags, 
sport  suspension,  analog  instru- 
mentation with  tachometer,  and  AM- 
FM  stereo  cassette.  Camaro's  fully- 
lined  power  convertible  top  features 
a  glass  rear  window  with  electric 
defogger. 

Round-trip  economy  airfare  for 
two  to  Tokyo  on  All  Nippon 
Airways,  the  world's  eighth  largest 
airline.  Fly  All  Nippon  Airways 
nonstop  from  New  York,  Washington, 


D.C.,  or  Los  Angeles.  For  more  than 
40  years,  All  Nippon  Airways  has 
provided  exceptional,  award-winning 
service,  both  on  the  ground  and  in 
the  air.  And,  All  Nippon  Airways 
features  one  of  the  world's  newest 


fleets  of  Boeing  747-400  aircraft. 
Frequent  flyers  on  All  Nippon  Airways 
can  earn  generous  awards  in  the 
ANA  GOLDPASS®  program  or 
through  ANA's  participation  in  the 
USAir  Frequent-Traveler  program. 


The  New  Honda  Nighthawk® 
750  Motorcycle,  a  superb  combination 
of  traditional  virtues  and  up-to-date 
technology.  The  balanced,  capable, 
high-performance  Nighthawk®  750  is 
unquestionably  today's  best  value  in 
street  motorcycles. 

The  Casio  Celviano  features 
digital  recordings  of  an  actual  concert 
grand  piano  utilizing  more  than  10 
microphones  and  16-bit  sampling.  It 
provides  a  wide  variation  of  preset 
tones,  including  harpsichord, 
vibraphone,  guitar  and  pipe  organ. 
And  a  set  of  stereo  headphones,  so 
you  can  play  without  disturbing  those 
around  you. 

The  Compaq  Presario  425 
features  an  all-in-one  design  that's  a 
breeze  to  set  up  and  it  comes  with  486 
power,  Windows™  ,  and  a  bundle  of 
other  preinstalled  software.  Other 
features  include  a  sharp  14"  SVGA 
color  monitor,  a  200MB  hard  drive,  4MB 
of  RAM,  and  a  free  3-year  warranty  with 
one  year  of  free  on-site  service. 

The  U.S.  Space  Academy  in 
Huntsville,  Alabama.  Give  your 
dreams  a  taste  of  reality.  Over  a  three- 
day  weekend,  two  winners  and  one 
teammate  each  will  experience  the 
rigors  of  astronaut  and  mission 
training.  Tours  of  NASA's  Marshall 
Space  Flight  Center  and  the  U.S. 
Space  and  Rocket  Center  round  out 
the  weekend.  Accommodations, 
meals,  programs  and  materials  are 
included. 

To  find  out  how  to  enter,  please 
turn  to  the  next  page. 


A  DOZEN  CLUES  ARE  BURIED  IN  THIS  ISSUE.  FOLLOW  THE  DIRECTIONS, 
READ  THE  RULES  AND  YOU  COULD  WIN  IN  THE  GREAT  TREASURE  HUNT 


HOW  TO  PLAY:  Each  of  the  dozen  picture  discs 
shown  on  this  page  is  a  portion  of  a  photo  or  illustration 
in  an  advertisement  appearing  in  this  issue.  To  solve 
the  Treasure  Hunt,  find  the  ads  from  which  the  discs 
were  taken,  and  note  the  page  numbers  for  each.  If  an 
ad  appears  on  the  inside  or  outside  of  the  front  or  back 
cover,  count  that  page  number  as  zero.  If  there  is  no 
page  number,  turn  to  the  next  numbered  page;  use 
that  number.  If  there  is  no  numbered  page  between  the 
ad  and  the  end  of  the  magazine,  stop  at  the  inside 
back  cover  and  use  zero  as  your  page  number.  Then 
add  up  all  12  numbers.  That  is  the  solution  you 
need  to  enter.  Now,  print  your  name,  address 
daytime  phone  number,  and  the  solution  on 
3"  x  5"  piece  of  paper.  Mail  your  entry  in 
an  envelope  to:  Treasure  Hunt/  OMNI 
P.  0.  Box  1552,  Fairport,  NY  14450. 
Hurry  -  entries  must  be  received  no 
later  than  5/31/94.  Good  luck! 

OFFICIAL     RULES: 
purchase  necessary, 
enter,    follow    the    in 
structions  above.  Enter 
as     often     as     you 
wish;  each  en 
must  be  mailed 
separately 
Entries 
must       be 
received    by 
5/31/94. 

PRIZES/APPROX. 
VALUES:  (1)  1994  Chevy 
Camaro  Convertible/ 
$18,745,  estimated  value 
based  on  1993  MSRP;  (1) 
Round-trip  economy-class  tickets 
for  two  on  All  Nippon  Airways 
Tokyo  from  New  York,  Washington 
D.C.  or  Los  Angeles/$5,600;  (1)  1 
Honda  Nighthawk©  750  Motorcycle/$4,599; 
(1)  Casio  Celviano/$1,999;  (1)  Compaq 
Presario  425/$1,399;  (2)  Three-day  weekend  for 
two  at  the  U.S.  Space  Academy  in  Huntsville 
Alabama/$l,000.  Total  prize  value:  $34,342.  Prizes  are 
not  transferable  or  redeemable  for  cash.  No 
substitution  of  prizes  except  as  necessary  due  to 
availability.  All  taxes  are  winner's  responsibility. 
Licensing,  transportation,  registration,  and  dealer 
charges  on  the  automobile  and  motorcycle  prizes  are 
the  winners'  responsibility.  Travel  to  and  from  ANA 
gateways  listed  above  and  to  and  from  U.S.  Space 
Academy  is  not  included.  Travel  to  and  from  Tokyo 
must  be  completed  by  6/30/95.  Blackout  dates  and 
additional  restrictions/conditions  may  apply  for  ANA 
and  U.S.  Space  Academy  prizes.  Acceptance  of  a 
prize  won  by  someone  under  21  will  require  consent  of 
a  parent  or  legal  guardian.  If  ANA  or  U.S.  Space 


Academy  prize  is  won  by  a  person  under  21,  he/she 
must  be  accompanied  by  a  parent  or  legal  guardian. 

Open  to  U.S.  residents  except  employees  and 
their  families  of  OMNI  Publications  Int'l.,  Ltd., 
COMPUTE  Publications  Int'l.,  Ltd.,  and  POWER 
GROUP,  Inc.,  their  respective  subsidiaries  or  affiliates 
and  advertising  agencies.  This  sweepstakes  is 
sponsored  jointly  by  OMNI  Publications  Int'l.,  Ltd.,  and 
COMPUTE  Publications  Int'l.,  Ltd.,  1965  Broadway, 
New  York,  NY  10023;  212-496-6100.  Winners  will  be 
selected  at  random  from  among  all  eligible  correct 
entries  on  6/30/94  by  POWER  GROUP,  INC.,  an 
independent  judging  organization  whose 
decisions  are  final.  Odds  are  determined  by 
number  of  entries  received.  Winners  will  be 
notified  by  mail  and  will  be  required  to 
execute  and  return  an  affidavit  of 
eligibility  within  21  days  of  date  on 
notification  letter.  Winners  and 
travel  companions,  if  applica- 
ble, will  be  required  to  pro- 
vide sponsors  with  a  lia- 
bility/publicity release. 
Except  where  pro- 
hibited, winners 
agree  to  use  of 
their  names 
V.  and  like- 
nesses for 
advertising 
and  publicity 
without  added 
compensation.  Limit 
one  prize  per  house- 
hold. Sponsors  not 
responsible  for  lost,  late,  or 
misdirected  mail. 
You  may  request  the  solution 
by  sending  a  self-addressed  stamp- 
ed envelope  to  "Treasure  Hunt" 
Solution,  P.  O.  Box  1556,  Fairport,  NY 
14450  by  4/30/94;  no  return  postage 
required  for  residents  of  VT  and  WA.  For 
winners'  names,  send  a  self-addressed  stamped 
envelope  to:  'Treasure  Hunt"  Winners,  P.  O.  Box 
1558,  Fairport,  NY  14450  by  6/30/94.  Winners'  List 
requests  will  be  fulfilled  after  the  sweepstakes  ends. 

GIFT  FINDER'S  GUIDE:  For  information  on  the 
prizes  seen  in  The  Great  Treasure  Hunt,  contact  the 
following  companies:  1994  Chevy  Camaro  Convertible: 
Contact  your  local  Chevrolet  dealer.  All  Nippon 
Airways:  Contact  your  travel  consultant  or  call  ANA  at 
1-800-2-FLY-ANA  (1-800-235-9262);  Honda 
Nighthawk®  750  Motorcycle:  American  Honda 
Motorcycle,  1919  Torrance  Blvd.,  Torrance,  CA  9050I- 
2746;  Casio  Celviano:  Tel:  1-800-YO-CASIO;  Compaq 
Presario  425:  Contact  Compaq  Computer  Corp.,  20555 
State  Highway  249,  Houston,  TX  77070,  Tel:  1-800-345- 
1518;  The  U.S.  Space  Academy:  Tel:  1-800-63SPACE. 


HARDWARE  CLINIC 

I'll  cover  software  in  a  future  column, 
but  for  the  moment,  it's  worth  empha- 
sizing that  you  should  make  sure  there 
are  drivers  for  your  peripherals.  SCSI  sim- 
plifies and  unifies  the  whole  business  of 
peripheral  drivers.  But  there  are  three 
different  (and  incompatible)  groups  of 
SCSI  software.  You'd  do  well  to  choose 
one  to  follow  and  stick  with  it. 

The  three  groups  are  the  Advanced 
SCSI  Peripheral  Interface  (ASPI),  the 
Common  Access  Method  (CAM),  and 
the  Layered  Device  Driver  Architecture 
(LADDR).  Both  ASPI  and  CAM  are  fair- 
ly strong  standards,  and  you  can  prob- 
ably choose  either  one  without  regret. 
However,  I'd  recommend  that  you  stick 
to  ASPI-compatible  drivers,  because  AS- 
PI is  the  more  popular  of  the  two.  You 
must  find  out  whether  the  host  adapter 
you  are  considering  supports  either  AS- 
PI or  CAM.  If  you  prefer  ASPI,  confirm 
that  the  host  adapter  will  support  ASPI 
before  you  buy. 

SCSI  has  evolved  considerably  in  the 
past  few  years,  leading  to  different 
generations  of  SCSI  coexisting  at  the  mo- 
ment in  the  marketplace.  The  first  gen- 
eration, dubbed  SCSI  (or  SCSI-1, 
though  generally  it  isn't  identified  by  num- 
ber) was  a  fairly  loose  set  of  electronic 
standards  that  failed  to  mandate  simple 
things  like  connector  types,  leaving  eve- 
ry vendor  to  build  an  interesting,  cre- 
ative, and  incompatible  incarnation  of 
the  SCSI  standard. 

SCSI-2  was  cooked  up  for  the  obvi- 
ous reason:  More  standardization  was 
needed.  Even  though  SCSI-2  is  not  a  fin- 
ished standard  yet  (where  finished 
means  "approved  by  governing  bodies, 
printed  up,  and  available  for  sale"), 
there  is  close  enough  agreement  in  the 
marketplace  as  to  what  SCSI-2  will  look 
like  that  you  can  buy  a  SCSI-2-compat- 
ible  host  adapter  today — and  that 
would  be  a  good  idea.  SCSI-2  has 
some  positive  features,  including  less 
noise  on  its  bus  and  a  better-defined 
interface.  SCSI-2  also  has  some  options 
that  are  worth  considering.  For  exam- 
ple, fast  SCSI  is  a  standard  that  allows 
a  peripheral  to  transfer  data  at  up  to 
10MB  per  second;  the  standard  SCSI 
interface  transfers  data  at  only  5MB  per 
second.  This  increase  in  speed  is  ac- 
complished without  any  changes  in  ca- 
bles. Another  kind  of  SCSI,  wide  SCSI 
or  differential  SCSI,  uses  different  ca- 
bles and  works  only  with  peripherals  de- 
signed specifically  for  wide  SCSI.  Don't 
buy  wide  SCSI  unless  you  know  that 
you  need  it.  (SCSI-3  is  in  the  works,  by 
the  way,  but  you  needn't  worry  about 
it  .  .  .  yet.) 


If  you  put  together  SCSI-2,  bus  mas- 
tering, a  32-  or  16-bit  data  pathway, 
and  good  software  support,  you  have 
a  good  host  adapter.  While  many  good 
SCSI  products  have  arrived  on  the  mar- 
ket, the  ones  that  I  buy  are  the  Adaptec 
products.  They  may  not  be  the  least  ex- 
pensive, but  with  Adaptec  products 
you'll  have  the  drivers  you  need. 

Next,  consider  your  options  for  SCSI 
peripherals.  From  the  SCSI  interface's 
point  of  view,  your  selection  is  simple: 
Buy  only  SCSI-2-compliant  peripherals. 
(It  wouldn't  hurt  if  they  had  the  ability, 
as  do  many,  to  support  SCSI-1  or  SCSI- 
2  with  a  flip  of  a  DIP  switch.)  Make  sure 
that  the  peripherals  you  buy  can  ena- 
ble or  disable  SCSI  parity,  an  error- 
checking  system  built  into  SCSI,  and 
that  they  can  optionally  provide  some- 
thing called  active  termination  power. 

I'll  discuss  active  termination  power 
next  month,  but  I'll  tell  you  now  why  it's 
so  important.  On  some  kinds  of  sys- 
tems, like  an  Ethernet  local  area  net- 
work, termination  boils  down  to  a  re- 
sistor: Terminators  provide  just  enough 
resistance  to  tune  a  circuit's  impedance 
to  some  goal  value. 

On  the  other  hand,  SCSI  parity  is  an 
error-checking  system,  much  like  the  par- 
ity used  in  asynchronous  data  commu- 
nications or  in  memory  systems  on 
most  PCs.  But  not  every  peripheral  sup- 
ports SCSI  parity,  and  this  leads  to  a 
problem.  All  of  the  peripherals  on  the 
SCSI  chain  must  support  SCSI  parity, 
or  none  can  use  it.  If  you  have  four 
SCSI  devices  that  support  SCSI  parity 
and  one  that  doesn't,  you  must  disable 
SCSI  parity  for  all  of  the  other  devices. 
SCSI  parity  is  required  for  a  peripheral 
to  be  SCSI-2  compliant. 

Many  old  SCSI-1  devices,  including 
a  number  of  SCSI  hard  disks,  were 
built  to  talk  to  one  particular  SCSI  con- 
troller, and  this  brings  up  a  side  point: 
SCSI  has  been  a  standard — or  near  to 
a  standard — only  for  the  past  two  or 
three  years.  If  you  try  to  add  an  old 
40MB  SCSI  drive  from  a  Tandy  comput- 
er built  in  1988  to  an  existing  SCSI  sys- 
tem, don't  be  surprised  if  you  can't  con- 
vince the  drive  and  the  SCSI  system  to 
talk  to  each  other. 

Next  month,  we'll  continue  assem- 
bling a  SCSI  system. 

Speak  Up! 

Do  you  have  a  tough  hardware  prob- 
lem you'd  like  Mark  to  tackle?  Let  him 
know  about  it  by  calling  (900)  285- 
5239  (sponsored  by  Pure  Entertain- 
ment, P.O.  Box  186,  Hollywood,  Califor- 
nia 90078).  The  call  will  cost  95  cents 
per  minute,  you  must  be  18  or  older, 
and  you  must  use  a  touch-tone  tele- 
phone. 0 


MEET  THE 
EDITORS 
ONLINE 


If  you  like  reading  COMPUTE 
magazine,  you  should  see 
what  we've  done  with  the  elec- 
tronic version.  That's  right — 
COMPUTE  now  has  its  own  ar- 
ea on  America  Online.  Log  on 
to  AOL  and  then  go  to  the  key- 
word compute.  Once  in  COM- 
PUTE Online,  you  can  read 
the  current  issue  and  back  is- 
sues, conduct  an  electronic 
search  for  articles  or  topics  of 
interest,  read  reviews,  down- 
load software,  and  much 
more.  You  can  even  download 
entire  copies  of  COMPUTE 
books. 

Need  a  quick  answer  to  a 
computing  question?  Contact 
the  editors  in  the  message  ar- 
ea or  chat  with  them  live  each 
week  in  COMPUTE  Confer- 
ence. You  can  also  reach  the 
editors  by  E-mail.  Here's  a  list 
of  the  COMPUTE  editors  and 
their  online  names. 

Clifton  Karnes,  editor:  CKarnes 

David  English,  managing  editor: 
DavdEnglsh 

Robert  Bixby,  features  editor: 
RBixby 

Mike  Hudnall,  reviews  editor: 
MikeHud 

Tom  Netsel,  Gazette  and 
COMPUTE  Online  editor: 
Tom  Netsel 

Denny  Atkin,  entertainment 
editor:  Dennny 

Stephen  Levy,  books  editor: 
SLevyl 


MARCH  1994     COMPUTE        49 


SubLOGIC  has  carved  a  unique 
market  niche  as  the  sole  publisher  of 
aviation  edutainment  software.  Our 
simulation  technologies  have  been 
bringing  flight  into  the  home  since 
1977.  I^ei  us  introduce  you  to  the 
TOTAL  FLIGHT  EXPERIENCE. 

Simulation  features  like  high  fidelity 
flight  dynamics,  special  flight 
graphics  and  sound T  verbal  and 
visual  guidance  systems,  locator  and 
facility  control  menus,  and  a 
structured  flight  ussigner  give  you  an 
extremely  rewarding  flight 
experience*  Our  user  friendly 
software  guides  you  from  takeoff, 
through  easy  visual  and  radio 
en  route  navigation,  <°  a  successful 
lauding  at  your  d  est  mat ion. 


Two  separate  sets,  USA  East  and 
USA  West,  cover  the  eastern  and 
western  sections  of  the  country. 
Together  they  give  you  comprehen- 
sive visual  scenery  coverage  of  the 
entire  United  States  plus  every 
paved  public-access  airport,  nav-aid 
and  instrument  approach.  A 
continuous  flowT  of  cities,  airports, 
rivers,  highways  and  railroads  (the 
entire  national  infrastructure) 
makes  flying  a  breathtaking 
experience,  Our  colorful, 
comprehensive  maps  are 
SubLOGIC  trademark 


USA  (also  for  Great  Britain  Scenery 
Collection).  All  you  have  to  do  is 
specify  a  time  frame  and  difficulty 
level,  select  a  flight,  and  print  a  copy 
of  your  flight  log.  Spoken  Air  Traffic 
Control  messages  come  alive  nation- 
wide (with  ATP  or  Air  Force  and 
optional  SoundBlaster  sound  card), 

USA  East  and  USA 

West  are  available  for 

$69.95  each. 


SubLOGIC  -  Dedicated  to  bringing 
you  ffw  total  flight  cxperiencel 


All  SubLOGIC  flight  simulations, 
and  Microsoft  Flight  Simulator,  can 
be  greatly  enhanced  with  the  USA 
add-on. 


USA 

USA  integrates  three  products  in  one 
coordinated  package;  a  structured 
flight  assignment  system,  a 
comprehensive  scenery 
management  system  and,  of  course, 
a  nationwide  scenery  platform. 


USA's  scenery  management  system 
provides  instant  inflight  information 
about  or  relocation  to  any  airport  or 
nav-aid  facility.  Navigation  aid 
symbols  can  be  turned  on  an  off  as 
desired  to  help  you  visualize  the 
location  of  all  radio  itav-aids*  Huge 
floating  traffic  patterns  and  runway 
approach  arrows  guide  you  down  to 
a  safe  landing  at  the  destination 
airport. 

The  automatic  flight  assignment 
system  designs  structured  flights  for 


Flight  Simulations 

Our  aviation  dedication  is  demon- 
strated in  two  low-priced  simula- 
tions. Many  flight  sim  developers 
have  abandoned  the  general  public 
to  create  new  products  specifically 
for  the  latest  high-end,  ultra-fast 
machines.  Our  simulations  can  run 
optimally  on  family-oriented  1 6MHz 
through  33MHz  computers.  We've 
also  taken  extra  effort  to  ensure  that 


Colorful  Comprehensive  Maps 
are  a  SubLOGiC  Trademark 


8MHz  286  and  top-end  users  alike 
will  rnjiiy  the  SuhLOGIC  flight 
experience. 


Flight  Light 


No  more  "Oh,  I  tried  ii  before  and  I 
crashed!" 

Introducing  Might  light,  a  simple  yet 
full-featured  flight  simulation 
designed  to  give  you  a  fun  and 
successful  flight  experience.  FK  your 
Cessna  jet  along  flight  corridors 
from  New  York  to  Boston,  Chicago/ 
Champaign,  Los  Angeles/ 
San  Dtego,  and  now 
Dallas/Austin,  A 
practice  flight  mode 
makes  it  impossible 
for  you  to  crash. 
Pitch/power 
visual  cues 
show  you  what 


settings  to  use  to  climb,  cruise, 
descend  and  land.  A  second  window 
view  can  lock  onto  your  destination 
airport  or  onto  the  a  1 1- important 
horizon.  Visual  track -to- destination 
arrows,  traffic  pattern  indicators 
and  radio  nav-aid  markers  can  be 
turned  on  or  ofT  any  time.  Program 
features  are  organized  under  a 
brand  new  menu  system  that  offers 
context-sensitive  help. 


G^JL    Our  devotion  to 
bring  aviation  to 
the  world  inspired 
us  to  release  Plight 
I  ,ight  at  the  ultra-low  price  of 
$29.95,  so  you  can  get  one  for 
yourself  or  stuff  the  world's 
Christmas  stockings. 


New  York  City  at  Dusk 


Midway  Airport  and  Map  View 

Flight  Assignment:  ATP 

The  renowned  complete  jet  airliner 
simulator,  now  available  for  a  low 
$44.95.  Sit  back  and  watch  the 
ingenious  auto  flight  mode  fly  a 
Boeing  737  or  any  of  four  other 
heavy  transport  aircraft  across  the 
country.  Listen  to  the  voice  of  Air 


Traffic  Control  guide  the  aircraft 
from  takeoff  to  touchdown  (with 
SoundBlaster  sound  card).  When 
you're  ready  to  earn  your  wings  as  an 
Airline  Transport  Pilot,  take  the 
controls  and  fly  any  of  hundreds  of 
predefined  flight  assignments. 


\ 


USA  Might  Flight 

ATP's  proprietary  Air  Traffic 
Control  system*  really  excels  when 
used  in  conjunction  with  USA.  The 
combination  or  ATP  with  USA  is  such 
a  natural,  we've  decided  to  include 
the  ATP  simulation  on  the  CD-ROM 
version  of  USA  East/West.  This 
combo  package  will  keep  you  flying 
to  new  places  for  many  years  to 
come! 


VOR  and  flS  Xav-Aid  Symbols 


All  products  available  for  IBM/ 
compatibles.  See  your  dealer, 
or  feel  free  to  call  our  friendly 
and  knowledgeable  staff  at 
800-637-4983  for  additional 
information. 


Flight  Assignment,  Flight  light*  and  Scenery 
Collection  are  trademarks  of  SubLOGIG  *  ATC 
system  patent  pending.  All  other  products  and 
brands  are  trademarks  or  registered 
trademarks  of  their  respective  owners. 


thm  Computer  f  tight  people 


LOGIC 


TELEPHONE:  (217)359-8482 
FAX:  (217)362-1472 

ORDER  LINE:  (800)637-4983 
Circle  Reader  Service  Number  179 


A  four-step  system  to  get  you  started 
programming  Windows  in  C++ 


FROM  C  TO  SHINING  C++ 


Like  great  explorers  and  mountain  climbers,  programmers  conquer  new  ter- 
ritory every  time  they  sit  down  to  write  code.  But  sometimes  the  trek  into  the 
wilderness  is  almost  anticlimactic  after  the  months  of  rigorous  preparation. 
That's  what  this  feature  is  about — stocking  up  on  provisions  and  gathering  what 
sketchy  charts  might  already  exist  of  the  territory  ahead.  I  can't  tell  you  what 
you'll  make  of  what  you  find.  That's  limited  only  by  your  imagination  and  coding 
talent.  I  only  promise  that  your  journey  can  be  either  the  adventure  of  a  lifetime 
or  a  disaster,  depending  on  how  well  you  prepare  for  it. 

Window  of  Opportunity 

Windows  and  C++  are  the  two  most  important  trends  in  programming  today. 
And  they're  a  natural  combination,  too,  because  Windows  was  designed  from 
the  ground  up  as  an  object-oriented  environment,  and  C++  is  the  leading 
object-oriented  programming  language. 

But  how  do  you  learn  to  program  Windows  in  C++?  There  are  so  many  pos- 
sible places  to  start  learning  and  so  many  different  ways  to  go  about  it  that  the 
task  can  seem  overwhelming.  While  it's  true  that  there's  no  royal  road  to  this 
noble  goal,  learning  to  program  Windows  is  easier  than  it  may  at  first  appear. 

What  follows  is  a  personal  view  of  how  to  learn  Windows  and  C++.  Some 
people  will  disagree  with  me  on  the  process,  but  it  has  helped  me,  and  it  has 
been  the  road  taken  by  several  successful  programmers  I  know. 


By  Clifton  Karnes 


¥ 


Get  Ready  for  the  Climb 

When  mountain  climbers  set  out  to  con- 
quer Everest,  they  don't  make  one  long 
climb  to  the  top.  They  set  up  a  base 
camp  and  way  stations  with  supplies 
and  tents  to  make  the  climb  less  ardu- 
ous by  breaking  it  into  phases.  Similar- 
ly, the  Windows/C++  Everest  can  be 
scaled  in  four  phases,  which  I'm  going 
to  outline  in  this  article.  After  I've  talked 
about  how  to  learn  C++  programming 
for  Windows,  I'll  discuss  some  C+  + 
Windows  programming  tools. 

As  a  preview,  here  are  the  four 
steps  to  programming  Windows  in 
C+  +  : 

1.  Learn  C. 

2.  Learn  the  Windows  C  API. 

3.  Learn  C++. 

4.  Learn  a  Windows  C++  application 
framework. 

(A  framework  is  a  class  library 
designed  to  produce  an  application  of 
a  certain  type — such  as  a  DOS  appli- 
cation or  a  Windows  application.  The 
framework  contains  the  fundamental 
routines  for  operating  in  a  particular 
environment.  It  saves  you  from  having 
to  reinvent  the  wheel  every  time  you 
create  a  new  application.) 

For  the  best  results,  you'll  need  to 
follow  these  steps  in  order  and  master 
the  basics  of  each  before  you  move  on. 

Most  of  your  learning  will  be  from 
books.  Using  the  books  correctly  is 
important.  Therefore,  we'll  set  up  base 
camp  here  by  talking  a  little  about  the 
best  way  to  get  the  most  from  a  pro- 
gramming text. 

•  First,  plan  what  parts  of  a  book 
you're  going  to  read  (ideally,  you'll 
read  the  entire  book). 

•  Decide  how  much  time  you'll  spend 
on  each  chapter  and  set  goals  for 
yourself,  such  as  completing  one 
chapter  per  week. 

•  Take  the  time  to  type  in  the  exam- 
ple programs.  This  is  the  most  impor- 
tant part  of  your  learning.  To  under- 
stand why  typing  in  the  examples  is 
so  important,  it  might  help  to  know 
that  until  the  twentieth  century,  com- 
posers served  their  apprenticeships 
by  copying  musical  scores  created  by 
the  masters  (by  hand— the  Xerox 
copier  was  far  in  the  future  back 
then).  By  copying  successful  scores, 
future  masters  would  develop  a  feel- 
ing for  what  worked,  and  the  style  of 
successful  composers  would  become 
ingrained  in  them.  The  same  thing  is 
true  for  programming. 

You  don't  have  to  type  in  every  list- 
ing in  a  book  (although  that  is  the  best 
approach),  but  plan  which  ones  to 
work  on  and  stick  to  your  schedule 
(doing  at  least  two  per  chapter). 

54      COMPUTE    MARCH   1994 


Windows  C++  Advanced 
Profranner's  Boiksklf 

In  addition  to  the  books  discussed 
in  the  text,  there  are  many  excel- 
lent advanced  learning  tools  avail- 
able. Here  are  five  of  the  best. 

Annotated  ANSI  C  Standard, 
annotated  by  Herbert  Schildt 
(Osborne  McGraw-Hill,  $39.95) 

This  is  the  last  word  on  the  C 
language  as  finalized  by  the  ANSI 
C  Committee  along  with  annota- 
tions by  a  C  expert.  If  you  have  this 
book  and  K  &  R  (The  C  Program- 
ming Language  by  Kernighan  and 
Ritchie),  you  have  the  two  top  C 
references. 

The  C++  Annotated  Reference 
Manual,  by  Margaret  A.  Ellis  and 
Bjarne  Stroustrup  (Addison- 
Wesley,  $45.25) 

Stroustrup  invented  C++,  and 
this  is  an  annotated  version  of  the 
reference  manual  that  appears  in 
The  C++  Programming  Language. 
If  you  find  that  any  part  of  that  text 
needs  clarifying,  this  is  the  book  to 
which  you  should  turn. 

Undocumented  Windows:  A 
Programmer's  Guide  to  Reserved 
Microsoft  Windows  API  Functions, 
by  Andrew  Schulman,  David 
Maxey,  and  Matt  Pietrek  (Addison- 
Wesley,  $39.95) 

This  book  sparked  a  heated  re- 
sponse from  Microsoft;  its  authors 
prove  that  Microsoft  uses  undocu- 
mented Windows  API  functions  in  its 
own  programs.  If  you  really  want  to 
go  beyond  the  official  Windows  pro- 
gramming, this  is  the  book  for  you. 

Windows  Internals:  The  Imple- 
mentation of  the  Windows  Opera- 
ting Environment,  by  Matt  Pietrek 
(Addison-Wesley,  $29.95) 

The  author  has  found  out  what 
really  makes  Windows  tick  by  dis- 
assembling its  code  and  studying 
it.  This  is  an  excellent  follow-up  to 
Undocumented  Windows. 

Windows  3,1:  A  Developer's 
Guide,  Second  Edition,  by  Jeff 
Richter  (M  &  T  Books,  $39.95) 

This  is  a  book  for  advanced 
Windows  API  programmers.  Rich- 
ter discusses  topics  you  won't  find 
in  other  books.  You  will  find  impor- 
tant information  on  such  advanced 
topics  as  subclassing  and  super- 
classing  windows  (including  the 
desktop  window),  installing  hooks, 
using  drag  and  drop,  and  creating 
installation  programs.  There  is  a 
gold  mine  of  useful  information  and 
code  here. 


Learning  C 

Before  you  tackle  C++,  learn  C.  C++ 
is  built  on  C  (the  ++  in  C++  is  the  C 
increment  operator,  which  is  intended 
to  indicate  that  C++  is  the  next  incre- 
mental level  up  from  C),  and  much  of 
what  you  do  in  C++  involves  regular  C 
programming. 

Another  good  reason  to  learn  C  is 
that  it's  still  the  lingua  franca  of  pro- 
fessional programming.  You  can  find 
lots  of  third-party  books,  libraries, 
compilers,  and  source  code  in  C.  It 
has  quickly  become  the  most  popular 
language  in  computing's  history,  and 
after  you've  learned  it,  you'll  under- 
stand why.  C's  style  is  lean  and  ele- 
gant. It  produces  code  that's  much 
easier  to  read  than  assembly  lan- 
guage—but the  compiled  programs 
approach  the  speed  of  assembly  lan- 
guage programs. 

If  you  aren't  familiar  with  C,  take  a 
look  at  the  following  code.  This  is  sort 
of  the  Dick  and  Jane  of  C  program- 
ming in  that  it's  virtually  everyone's 
first  C  program. 

main(  ) 

I 

printf("Hello,  world."); 


But  how  do  you  tackle  C,  and  how 
long  will  it  take  to  learn  it?  The  best 
place  to  start  is  with  a  good  book. 
There  are  several  excellent  texts  avail- 
able on  C,  but  among  the  best  I've 
seen  is  The  Waite  Group's  New  C 
Primer  Plus  by  Mitchell  Waite  and 
Stephen  Prata  (Howard  W.  Sams, 
$29.95).  It's  filled  with  easy-to-follow 
explanations,  and  it's  packed  with 
illustrations.  If  you  work  through  this 
book  slowly,  typing  in  the  examples 
and  trying  them,  you'll  wind  up  with  a 
solid  foundation  in  C  programming. 

A  word  of  warning:  Don't  take  any 
shortcuts  learning  C.  Mastering  C  is 
the  most  important  step  in  the  process 
of  learning  to  use  C++  with  Windows 
because  it's  the  bedrock  upon  which 
everything  else  will  be  built.  Since  C  is 
so  important,  I'd  even  consider  taking 
a  course  in  C  at  a  local  college.  The 
discipline  of  a  structured  curriculum 
may  pay  dividends  later. 

Even  if  you  do  take  a  course,  you 
should  still  buy  The  Waite  Group's  New 
C  Primer  Plus  and  work  through  it. 
Consider  buying  The  C  Programming 
Language  by  Brian  W.  Kernighan  and 
Dennis  M.  Ritchie  (Prentice  Hall, 
$39.95).  Ritchie  invented  C,  and  this 
slim  volume  is  the  C  bible. 

Plan  to  spend  six  months  to  a  year 
learning  C.  If  you  already  know  a 
structured  language,  such  as  Pascal, 
and  you  know  some  assembly,  six 


With  All  the  Games 

ONLY  ONE  HAS 

Knocking  at  Your  Door... 

THE  POWER  T 


/ 


x 

1 

<p 

Lock  the  doors,  roll  up  the  windows  and  hold  onto 
your  seat — Jurassic  Park  for  the  PC  has  arrived. 

Ocean's  exclusive  3D  texture-mapping  process 
puts  you  in  intimate  contact  with  more  than 
100  tons  of  REAL  dinosaur  meat—in  two    A 
nerve-splitting  perspectives.  (^ 


middle  of  stampeding  Brachiosaurs  and  Triceratops* 
Then  strap  on  your  "Night  Vision"  goggles  and 
venture  3D-deep  into  the  maze-filled  corridors  of  the 

Visitor's  Center,  where  you'll  come  eyeball-to- 
*y    eyeball  with  both  Raptors  and  Spitters. 

4\        And  if  that's  not  enough  to  make  you  sweat, 


Scope  out  the  island  and  let  razor- 
sharp  overhead  graphics  drop  you  in  the 


I  JURAStK  PARKI 


famished  T-Rex  awaits — eager  to  show  you 
a  rip-roarin'  good  time. 


TM  &  0  t99£ 
Inc.   All  right; 


m 


months  will  probably  do.  Otherwise, 
count  on  a  year.  It  will  be  time  well 
spent.  But  also,  you'll  discover  how 
much  fun  C  can  be.  C  is  a  superb  lan- 
guage, and  you  may  become  so 
enchanted  that  you'll  stop  there  with- 
out moving  on  to  C++. 

Learning  the  Windows  C  API 

After  learning  C,  the  next  step  is  to 
master  the  Windows  C  API  (Applica- 
tion Programming  Interface).  The 
Windows  API  is  a  collection  of  more 
than  a  thousand  functions  that  give 
you  the  power  to  manage  Windows 
and  use  its  resources.  Most  of  the 
functions  that  make  up  the  API  are 
contained  in  three  DLLs  (Dynamic 
Link  Libraries)  that  form  the  core  of 
Windows:  User,  Kernel,  and  GDI. 
These  DLLs  can  be  found  in  the  files 
USER. EXE,  KRNL386.EXE,  and 
GDI. EXE  in  your  Windows  SYSTEM 
directory  (as  you  can  see,  a  DLL 
doesn't  necessarily  have  to  have  a 
DLL  extension). 

When  you  study  the  Windows  API, 
you  spend  a  lot  of  time  learning  which 
functions  do  what  and  which  are  most 
important. 


{++  and  Windows  differences 

Here's  a  list  of  the  learning  tools 
suggested  in  this  article. 

Learning  C 

The  Waite  Group's  New  C  Primer 

Plus 
The  C  Programming  Language 

Learning  the  Windows  C  API 

Programming  Windows  3. 1 
Windows  API  Bible 

Learning  C++ 

C++  Tutorial  (included  with  Visual 

C++) 
Teach  Yourself  C++ 
C++  Primer  Plus 
The  C++  Programming  Language 

Learning  MFC 

Microsoft  Foundation  Class  Primer 
Inside  Visual  C++ 

Learning  OWL 

Borland  C++  Programming  for 

Windows 
World  of  ObjectWindows  for  C++ 

(video) 


Here's  a  supershort  Windows  pro- 
gram that  takes  the  name  of  any  pro- 
gram as  a  parameter  and  maximizes 
that  program  when  it  runs. 

WinMain(HANDLE  hlnstance,  HAN- 
DLE hPrevlnstance,  LPSTR 
IpszCmdLine,  int  nCmdShow) 


( 


1 


WinExec(lpszCmdLine, 
SWSHOWMAXIMIZED); 


Since  Windows  offers  no  way  to  spec- 
ify that  you  want  to  run  an  application 
in  a  maximized  window,  this  little  pro- 
gram is  actually  useful,  and  it's  proba- 
bly the  shortest  Windows  program 
you'll  ever  see. 

This  program  has  just  one  API  call, 
to  WinExec,  with  the  command  line 
(IpszCmdLine),  which  contains  the 
name  of  the  program  and  any  special 
parameters,  as  the  first  argument  and 
the  window's  size  (SW_SHOWMAXI- 
MIZED)  as  the  second  argument. 
Most  Windows  programs  are  much 
longer  than  this  one. 

Although  you  could  skip  this  step 
of  learning  the  Windows  C  API  and  go 


What  is  an  object?  And  why,  with  com- 
puterdom's penchant  for  outrageously 
graphic  and  even  ribald  terminology, 
has  such  a  nondescript  term  as  object 
sneaked  into  the  lexicon? 

Well,  an  object  is  an  object.  It's  a 
structure  that's  self-contained.  It's  a 
data  type  that  can  also  contain  other 
data  types,  and  it  even  contains 
functions  to  act  on  those  data  types. 
It's  hard  to  get  a  definition  of  object 
that's  any  clearer  than  that. 

The  problem  in  coming  up  with 
something  so  restrictive  as  a  name 
for  an  object  is  that  an  object  can  be 
anything.  To  name  something  is  to 
corner  it,  etherize  it,  pin  it  in  a  case 
like  a  dead  butterfly,  and  pretend 
that  you  understand  it.  To  refuse  to 
name  something  is  to  give  that  thing 
the  power  of  Proteus — the  Greek 
demigod  who  could  be  and  do  any- 
thing because  he  was  without  set 
form  or  function. 

Suppose  your  sister  or  your  moth- 
er or  some  other  member  of  your 
distaff  family  opened  her  purse  and 
removed  three  objects.  You  probably 
visualize  car  keys,  personal  items, 
change,  Chap  Stick,  nun-chucks,  a 
can  of  Mace,  a  small  firearm  or 
Taser,  or  some  other  objects  com- 
mon to  a  purse.  But  an  object  could 
be  an  elephant,  a  Cheese  Doodle,  a 
black  hole,  a  quark,  or  the  cosmos. 


Objective:  Object 

Each  of  these  objects,  even  the 
quark,  is  composed  of  quarks. 
Similarly,  an  object  can  be  com- 
posed of  other  objects,  and  some- 
times these  objects  will  be  of  a  very 
elemental  nature. 

Each  of  these  objects  has  certain 
properties  which  distinguish  it  as  an 
object.  It  is  encapsulated,  it  inherits 
characteristics,  and  it  is  polymor- 
phous (thanks  to  William  Roetzheim's 
book  Programming  Windows  with 
Borland  C++  for  these  properties). 

Encapsulation  means  that  each 
object  is  self-contained.  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  differentiating  a  stick  of 
gum  from  an  elephant  (or  telling 
where  one  leaves  off  and  the  other 
begins).  Likewise,  an  object  in 
object-oriented  programming  must 
contain  everything  it  needs  in  order 
to  exist  and  function.  It  can't  trail  off 
into  some  other  object  (though  it  can 
contain  other  objects,  just  as  an  ele- 
phant might  chew  the  gum).  Encap- 
sulation also  means  hiding  informa- 
tion (you  don't  have  to  know  how  an 
object  works  to  use  it),  and  it  means 
that  objects  keep  most  of  their 
innards  private  (outsiders  can  see 
and  interact  with  only  the  public  face 
of  the  object). 

Inheritance  refers  to  the  transfer  of 
characteristics  from  the  parents  and 
class  of  an  object  and  the  object's 


ability  to  transfer  characteristics  to  still 
other  objects.  A  pocket  calculator 
inherits  characteristics  from  difference 
engines  going  back  to  Babbitt's  origi- 
nal mechanical  calculating  ma- 
chine—and it  passes  along  its  char- 
acteristics to  personal  organizers  and 
electronic  spellers  and  translators.  If 
you  have  an  object  that  represents  a 
car,  it  will  inherit  characteristics  of 
four-wheeled  objects,  and  in  turn,  its 
characteristics  will  be  inherited  if  you 
want  to  create  a  specific  type  of  car 
object,  such  as  an  Edsel  object. 

Polymorphism  refers  to  the  ability 
of  objects  to  respond  differently, 
given  the  same  command.  For  exam- 
ple, you  might  have  several  objects 
that  draw  images  on  the  screen:  one 
that  draws  circles,  one  that  draws 
rectangles,  and  one  that  draws  lines. 
If  you  send  each  of  these  the  same 
command  to  draw  to  the  screen,  you 
will  have  three  different  images  on 
the  screen.  This  is  a  little  harder  to 
put  in  real-world  terms,  but  remem- 
ber that  basically  the  same  action  is 
required  to  operate  such  objects  as  a 
beer  can,  a  talking  doll,  and  a  hand 
grenade— you  pull  the  ring — but  the 
results  are  related  to  the  function  of 
the  object,  not  to  the  command. 

In  other  words,  an  object  is  an 
object. 

—ROBERT  BIXBY 


56      COMPUTE    MARCH   1994 


ks  Like  The  '90s 
Are  Going  To  Be  Fun  After  All. 


tWf3->-*r.  l5W^.l»BjlA*¥i  HHH 


i  experts  have  pronounced 

this  decade  Dull  On  Arrival 

Obviously,  they  haven't  seen  this 

beauty.  The  new  Chevy 

Camaro  Z28.  There's  enough 

recreational  hardware  here  to 

kick  start  any  decade.  We're 

talking  275  horsepower. 

A  six-speed  transmission.  An 

integrated  rear  spoiler.  Front  and 

rear  stabilizer  bars.  And  a  cup 


holder  big  enough  to  hold 

a  Slurpee.0  While  Camaro  may  be 

fun,  it's  not  frivolous.  It's  the  first 

and  only  car  in  its  class  to  offer 

dual  air  bags*  and  anti-lock 

brakes,  standard.1  You  also  get  an 

ingenious  theft-deterrent  PASS- 

Key?  II  Security  System, 

a  3-year/36,000-miIe  Bumper  to 

Bumper  Warranty  with  no 

deductible/1'  and  a  24-hour 


Roadside  Assis 

Listen:  If  you  can't  have  a  good 

time  with  a  car  like  this,  you're 

taking  this  decade  stuff  too 

seriously.  The  new  Camaro  Z28. 

What  else  would  you  expect 

from  the  country  that  invented 

Rock  and  Roll?1" 


Chevy  Camaro 


Call  1-800-950-2438  for  a  brochure. 

Uetv  belw  even  with  nr  bag}.  ;  Exclude*  other  GM  product*.  ** Whichever  comes  hrsr.  See  your  dealer  for  terms  at  tliis  limited  ivarrantj.  tfSet  fool  dealer  for  program  details.  Slurpee*  —  - 
jtettd  trademark  «>r  Trw  Southland  CorpOraQOil.  Carturo  is  a  registered  trademark  and  Ckvy  is  a  trademark  or  :he  GM  Corp.  CI995  GM  Corp,  All  Mights  Reserved,  Buckle  up,  America!  L 


directly  to  C++  and  then  an  applica- 
tion framework,  learning  the  API  will 
ensure  that  you  understand  what's 
going  on  in  an  application  framework 
when  you  start  using  it.  There's  anoth- 
er reason  for  learning  the  APJ,  toot 
and  it's  similar  to  the  reason  for  learn- 
ing C  first  instead  of  jumping  directly 
into  C++.  The  Windows  API  is  still  the 
backbone  of  Windows.  Most  of  the 
Windows  code  examples  you  see  are 
C  and  API  based.  If  you  donTt  under- 
stand C  and  the  API,  you  won't  be  able 
to  understand  these  examples,  and 
you'll  miss  some  of  the  information. 

Learning  the  API  is  a  big  job,  but 
there's  an  excellent  book  available: 
Programming  Windows  3. 1  by  Charles 
Petzold  (Microsoft  Press,  S49.95).  This 
1000-page  volume  (which  includes  a 
disk)  is  a  classic,  and  to  learn  the  API, 
you'll  need  to  study  it  carefully. 

Here's  some  advice  on  approach- 
ing Petzold:  if  you  have  time,  read  the 
entire  book.  If  not,  concentrate  on  the 
first  1 1  chapters.  These  contain  infor- 
mation on  basic  Windows  architec- 
ture, the  keyboard,  the  mouse,  the 
timer,  controls,  memory  management, 
resources,  dialog  boxes,  and  the  GDI. 

Here  again,  the  key  to  getting  the 
most  from  Petzold  is  to  type  in  the 
examples  from  the  book.  If  you  just 
study  the  code,  or  load  it  from  the 
accompanying  disk  and  compile  the 
programs,  you'll  get  only  a  fraction  of 
the  value  of  the  material.  You  don't 
have  to  type  in  every  example,  but 
you  should  type  in  at  least  a  couple 
per  chapter  to  get  the  most  out  of  the 
book. 

How  long  will  it  take  to  work 
through  Petzold?  Count  on  three 
months  for  the  short  course  or  six 
months  for  the  entire  volume.  Learning 
Petzold  has  an  added  benefit:  It's  so 
comprehensive  that  you'll  find  yourself 
referring  to  it  over  and  over  again.  If 
you  know  it  well,  you'll  soon  be  able  to 
solve  many  of  your  Windows  program- 
ming problems.  And  it  will  continue  to 
be  a  valuable  reference  long  after 
you've  mastered  C++  and  an  applica- 
tion framework. 

Another  book  to  consider  in  your 
API  apprenticeship  is  Windows  API 
Bible  by  James  L.  Conger  (Waite 
Group  Press,  $39.95).  This  is  the 
definitive  reference  on  the  API.  You'll 
find  yourself  turning  to  it  again  and 
again. 

After  you've  mastered  C  and  the 
Windows  APJ,  you  can  do  real  Win- 
dows programming.  That's  just  what 
you  might  want  to  do  for  a  while.  The 
majority  of  Windows  programs  avail- 
able now  were  written  using  only  these 
tools.  You  can  do  virtually  anything 
using  only  C  and  the  Windows  API. 

58      COMPUTE    MARCH   1994 


Learning  C++ 

If  you  already  know  C,  then  learning 
C++  won't  be  quite  the  challenge  that 
learning  C  was.  C++  is  an  extension 
of  C  that  does  two  things:  It  adds 
objects  to  C,  and  it  corrects  many  of 
the  problems  inherent  in  C. 

You've  probably  heard  about 
object-oriented  programming  systems 
{called  OOPS  for  short).  And  you  may 
be  a  little  skeptical  about  them.  It's 
clear  that  OOPS  are  the  future  of  pro- 
gramming and  that  C++  is  the  most 
popular  object-oriented  system  for  the 
near  future. 

Why  objects?  Object-oriented  pro- 
gramming was  invented  to  make  it 
easier  to  create  programs  that  mirror 
the  real  world.  Just  as  our  real  world  is 
populated  with  objects,  in  object-ori- 
ented programming,  you  create  soft- 
ware objects  that  contain  the  crucial 
actions  (functions)  and  attributes 
(variables)  of  the  real-world  objects 
they  model. 

Although  object-oriented  program- 
ming is  an  involved  subject  that's 
impossible  to  explain  in  a  few  short 
paragraphs,  here's  an  example  to 
give  you  a  feel  for  what  object-orient- 
ed programming  is  all  about.  If  you've 
created  a  software  object  that  models 
a  rowboat,  you  could  create  a  motor- 
boat  object  by  changing  some  of  the 
rowboat's  attributes  (the  material  from 
which  the  boat  is  made,  and  perhaps 
its  shape  and  color)  and  adding  func- 
tions for  the  motor's  actions  and  attrib- 
utes. A  program  about  cars  could  be 
assembled  from  carlike  software 
objects — tires,  fenders,  and  steering 
wheels.  A  program  dealing  with  farm- 
ing could  be  built  from  software 
objects  that  mirror  real  farm  objects — 
barns,  fields,  cows,  and  the  like. 

To  create  a  software  counterpart  of 
a  real-world  object,  you  have  to  build 
a  system  that's  self-contained.  As 
mentioned  above,  each  object  has  to 
be  able  to  act  (functions  provide  this 
capability)  and  to  hold  information 
about  itself  (which  is  stored  in  vari- 
ables). In  short,  each  object  must 
contain  all  the  code  and  data  it  needs 
to  function  as  a  unit. 

The  compelling  thing  about  objects 
is  that  programs  built  with  them  tend 
to  be  easier  to  create  and  understand 
because  they're  modeled  on  the 
behavior  of  real-world  objects.  And 
the  programs  are  more  robust  than 
traditional  programs  because  soft- 
ware objects  are  independent  sys- 
tems of  code  and  data. 

Another  key  advantage  to  objects, 
besides  their  robustness  and  ability  to 
model  real-world  behavior,  is  their 
reusability.  Any  software  object  can 
be  reused  in  any  program  and  in  any 


context  that's  appropriate.  And  any 
object  can  serve  as  the  parent  of 
another.  You  can  use  one  object  to 
create  an  exact  replica  of  another 
object  (in  which  the  child  object  inher- 
its all  of  the  parent's  features),  or  you 
can  modify  and  enhance  the  original 
object's  actions  (functions)  and  attrib- 
utes (data). 

How  does  this  relate  to  Windows 
programming?  Objects  are  central  to 
the  way  Windows  works.  Almost  every 
rectangle  you  see  on  your  Windows 
screen  is  a  window  object.  Every 
application  window,  client  window, 
button,  text  box,  combo  box.  edit  box, 
and  scroll  bar  is  a  window  object.  All 
of  these  window  objects  are  descend- 
ed from  one  software  parent  object, 
but  each  adds  its  own  actions  and 
attributes  to  those  of  its  parent. 

When  you  construct  a  Windows 
program  in  C++,  you  build  a  system 
of  these  objects. 

What  does  a  C++  object  look  like? 
As  an  example,  here's  a  short  class 
declaration  taken  from  Microsoft's 
C++  Tutorial. 

class  Date 

1 
public: 

//  Constructor. 

Date(int  mn,  int  dy,  int  yr); 

//  Destructor. 

~Date<  ); 

//  Function  to  print  date. 

void  display!  ); 
private: 

//  Month  integer. 

int  month; 

//  Day  integer. 

int  day; 

//  Year  integer. 

int  year; 
13 

This  short  example  demonstrates  that 
the  Date  object  contains  both  code — 
the  functions  for  Date( ),  ~Date( ),  and 
dispfay(  )— and  data — the  variables 
month,  day.  and  year. 

So  how  do  you  learn  C++?  There 
are  dozens  of  excellent  books,  but  I 
have  a  few  favorites.  If  you  have  a 
Microsoft  C++  compiler,  you  have  one 
of  them  already;  C++  Tutorial,  which 
comes  with  the  compiler,  is  superb. 
It's  the  fastest  course  in  C  +  +  I've 
seen,  but  it's  still  thorough.  If  you  read 
this  book  and  work  through  the  exam- 
ples, you'll  have  a  firm  grasp  of  C++. 

If  you  don't  have  a  Microsoft  C++ 
compiler,  then  I  have  two  recommen- 
dations. If  your  C  is  solid,  read  Teach 
Yourself  C+  +  by  Herb  Schildt 
(Osborne  McGraw-Hill,  $24.95).  It's  an 
excellent  step-by-step  introduction 
that's  a  lot  like  Microsoft's  C  +  + 


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Tutorial.  If  your  C  is  a  little  shaky,  how- 
ever, read  C+  +  Primer  Plus  by 
Stephen  Prata  (Waite  Group  Press, 
$26.95).  It's  a  thorough,  detailed  intro- 
duction to  C++  that  does  not  assume 
that  you  know  C.  In  addition  to  one  of 
the  tutorials  mentioned  above,  you'll 
want  to  own  The  C+  +  Programming 
Language  by  Bjarne  Stroustrup 
(Addison-Wesley,  $37.75).  Stroustrup 
invented  C  +  +  ,  and  this  volume  is  a 
must-have  reference  for  every  C  +  + 
programmer. 

Learning  a  Windows  C++ 
Application  Framework 

After  you've  gotten  your  C  +  +  sea 
legs,  it's  time  to  tackle  a  Windows 
application  framework.  When  you  pro- 
gram Windows  in  C++,  the  most  effi- 
cient way  to  work  is  to  use  a  C  +  + 
class  library  that  encapsulates  the 
Windows  API  and  makes  creating  pro- 
grams easier. 

For  class  libraries,  there  are  two 
options:  Microsoft's  MFC  (Microsoft 
Foundation  Classes)  and  Borland's 
OWL  (ObjectWindows  Library).  Both 
make  managing  all  the  red  tape  asso- 
ciated with  Windows  and  C  +  +  pro- 
gramming easier.  Your  choice  will 
depend  on  several  factors,  but  you 
should  consider  that  MFC  is  becom- 
ing a  standard  and  that  many  people 
feel  it's  superior  to  OWL.  And  MFC  is 
quickly  gaining  more  third-party  sup- 
port, including  books  and  code.  Look 
at  both  frameworks,  but  unless  you 
have  a  reason  not  to,  learn  MFC. 

An  application  framework  makes 
such  short  work  of  C++  programming 
that  the  following  line  runs  an  entire 
Windows  program. 

CMyWinApp  theApp; 


This  line  creates  an  application 
object  called  theApp  of  the 
class  CMyWinApp.   Pretty 
cool.  Of  course,  there's  lots 
going    on    behind    the 
scenes  here,  but  it  all 
comes  together  in  the 
creation  of  this  one 
powerful  object. 
If  you're  go 
ing    to    learn 
MFC,       the 
best  place 
to  start  is 


Microsoft  Foundation  Class  Primer  by 
James  L.  Conger  (Waite  Group  Press, 
$29.95).  It's  the  Petzold  for  MFC  1.0. 
Working  through  it  will  go  a  lot  faster 
than  working  through  Petzold,  but 
you'll  still  have  to  dig  in  and  get  your 
hands  dirty.  Again,  it's  vital  that  you 
type  in  the  program  examples. 

Microsoft  Foundation  Class  Primer 
covers  MFC  1.0.  To  take  advantage  of 
all  of  the  high-level  classes  in  MFC 
2.0,  you'll  want  to  explore  David 
Kruglinski's  Inside  Visual  C+  + 
(Microsoft  Press,  $39.95)  next.  It's  a 
well-written,  thorough  tutorial  on  the 
MFC  2.0  application  framework  and  a 
real  gem  of  a  book. 

If  you  decide  to  tackle  OWL 
instead  of  MFC,  I  have  two  sugges- 
tions. The  best  book  on  OWL  is 
Borland  C++  Programming  for  Win- 
dows by  Yao  and  Norton  (Bantam, 
$29.95).  Another  learning  tool  worth 
considering  is  Borland's  World  of 
ObjectWindows  for  C++  video 
(Borland  International,  $99.95). 


Windows-hosted  environments  you 
can  choose  from. 


•  Microsoft  Visual  C++  (M 
soft,  800-426-9400,  $499) 

•  Symantec  C  +  +  (Syman 
tec,  800-441-7234,  $499) 

•  Borland  C++  (Borland 
International,  800-331 
0877,  $499) 

Both    Microsoft 
Visual  C++  and 
Symantec 
C  +  +      uti- 
lize MFC; 
Borland 


icro- 


Choosing  a  Compiler 

The  C  +  +  compiler  you 
choose  will  depend  to  a 
certain  extent  on  the 
application  frame- 
work you  choose- 
either    MFC    or 
OWL.  For  Win- 
dows     pro 
gramming, 
there  are 
three 


ACCESS 

Brings  You 

a  Virtual  World 

Interactive  Movie! 


What  Reviewers  are  Saying: 

"Lots  of  games  claim  to  be  pushing  the 
envelope — Under  a  Killing  Moon  blows  it  to 
smithereens!" 

— William  Trotter,  PC  Entertainment 

"Under  a  Killing  Moon. ..the  most 
elaborate  graphic  adventure  to  date.  A 
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— Denny  Atkin,  Entertainment  Editor, 
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Ihis  category-creating  Interactive  Movie  from  ACCESS  Software  goes  light 
years  beyond  any  other  product  labeled  "interactive."  Under  a  Killing  Moon 
takes  you  to  the  streets  of  post  World  War  III  San  Francisco  and  casts  you  into 
the  role  of  Tex  Murphy.  Private  Investigator,  who  first  appeared  in  Mean  Streets, 
then  Martian  Memorandum.  Under  a  Killing  Moon  is  a  Virtual  World  full  of 
neople  and  places  so  richly  detailed,  you'll  feel  like  you're  actually  there. 


C  +  +  uses  OWL.  Before  talking 
about  these  products  individual- 
ly, let's  take  a  look  at  what 
they  have  in  common. 

First,   all  three  of 
these  tools  are  excellent. 
The  professional,  full- 
boat  version  of  each 
is  $499.  All  feature 
powerful     Win- 
dows-hosted 
tDEs     (Inte- 
grated 
Develop- 
m  e  n  t 
Envi- 
ron- 


r 


UNDERA 


ments)  with  syntax  highlighting  (which 
puts  different  language  elements  in 
different  colors).  And  all  offer 
Windows-based  debuggers  and 
resource  editors.  In  addition,  all  three 
let  you  create  C  and  C++  programs 
for  Windows  or  DOS.  Each  deviates  a 
little  in  the  way  it  handles  C++  and 
Windows,  but  all  three  are  compliant 
with  C++  version  2.1. 

And  each  of  these  products 
demands  a  huge  amount  of  disk 
space.  Symantec  C++  and  Microsoft 
Visual  C++  use  about  45MB  each. 
The  complete  installation  of  Borland 
C++  4.0  will  take  up  around  75MB. 

Both  the  Microsoft  and  Symantec 
products  come  in  standard  and  pro- 
fessional versions.  If  you  think  you're 
going  to  stick  with  programming,  go 
ahead  and  spring  for  a  professional 
version;  the  extra  tools  and  features 
are  well  worth  the  extra  cost. 

Microsoft  Visual  C+  +  . 
This  is  a  superbly  integrated 
environment.  The  IDE  fea- 
tures a  good  editor  (which 
can't  be  customized, 
unfortunately),  with  a 
toolbar  and  a  Tools 
menu  to  which  you 
can    add    pro- 
grams.    App 
Studio  is  a 
resource 
editor 
that 
edits 
di- 


Q:  What  do 
film  stars 
Brian  Keith, 
Margot  Kidder, 
&  Russell  Means  1 
all  have  in 
common? 


{*** 


A:  They  all  star  in  ACC&S  Software's     zjm 
new  CD  thriller  Under  a  Killing  Moon !  I IRd 


alog  boxes,  bitmaps,  icons,  menus, 
accelerators,  cursors,  and  string 
tables.  It  features  a  drag-and-drop 
interface  that's  very  simple  to  use. 
App  Studio  is  easily  the  best  resource 
editor  available  anywhere. 

Two  other  major  components  in 
Visual  C  +  +  are  App  Wizard,  which 
generates  C++  code  for  several  basic 
application  types,  and  Class  Wizard, 
which  manages  all  the  details  of  mes- 
sage maps  and  member  function  pro- 
totypes for  your  classes.  These  tools 
work  together  in  a  seamless  way,  and 
they  make  creating  programs  a  joy. 

Symantec  C++-  This  new  entry 
into  the  Windows  compiler  market  is  a 
remarkable  innovation.  Symantec  has 
gathered  the  best  compiler  compo- 
nents it  could  find  and  integrated 
them  into  a  novel  and  well-designed 
interface. 

The  Symantec  environment  looks 
more  like  a  Visual  Basic  workspace 
than  a  traditional  C  compiler.  There 
are  lots  of  windows  and  toolboxes  that 
let  you  change  views  by  dragging  and 
dropping  or  clicking.  This  program  is 
worth  considering. 

Borland  C++-  Borland's  newest 
entry  into  the  compiler  market  is  the 
most  customizable  of  the  group.  Its 
editor  is  very  powerful,  the  compiler  is 
fast,  and  the  tools  are  excellent. 
Indeed,  if  you  want  to  use  OWL, 
Borland  is  your  only  choice  (as  of  this 
writing). 

It's  worth  noting  that  you  can  use 
MFC  with  Borland's  compiler,  but  you 
have  to  own  the  MFC  source  code  in 
order  to  do  so.  Borland  publishes  a 
white  paper  that  offers  details  on  com- 
piling the  MFC  source  code  to  use 

with  Borland  C++. 

The  New  World 

It's  best  not  to  leap  into  C++ 
or  Windows  programming. 
Laying  the  groundwork  by 
taking  the  preliminary 
steps  of  learning  C 
and  the  Windows 
API  will  give  you  a 
foundation     in 
programming 
and  the  envi- 
ronment to 
get    you 
start- 
ed. Q 


Format: 
2  CD's  for 
MS-DOS 


Comin 

to  a 


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Circle  Fteftder  Service  Number  244 


49 IQW. Amelia  Earhan  Dr. 
Salt  Lake  City,  UTB4U  6 

Near  You!     i-8O0-a<m-488Q  ; 


SOFTWARE  INCORPORATED 


Scenery  for 
Microsoft^  light  Simulator®  v.  5.0  j 
for  DOS  Systems 


Phot 
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and  Surrounding  Area 


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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  117 


COMPUTE'S  GETTING  STARTED  WITH 


PERSONAL  NETWORKING 


WHY  USE  A 
NETWORK? 

Connecting  computers  in  a 
local  area  network  lets  peo- 
ple increase  their  efficiency 
by  sharing  files,  resources, 
and  more.  Local  area  net- 
working has  attained  much 
popularity  in  recent  years — 
so  much  that  it  seems  net- 
working was  just  invented. 
In  reality,  local  area  net- 
works (LANs)  appeared 
more  than  ten  years  ago, 
when  the  arrival  of  the 
microcomputer  gave  multi- 
ple users  access  to  the 
same  computer. 

These  are  three  of  the 
most  common  benefits  of 
using  a  LAN. 

•  Increased  efficiency 

•  Improved  communications 

•  Lowered  costs 

LANs  increase  the  efficien- 
cy of  workers  by  letting 
them  exchange  data  and 
by  eliminating  redundant 
effort.  The  most  common 
means  of  sharing  informa- 
tion on  a  LAN  is  the  corpo- 
rate database.  Corporations 
commonly  have  several 
departments  performing 
very  different  tasks,  but  the 
departments  are  generally 
working  with  the  same  type 
of  information.  A  mail-order 
company,  for  example, 
works  with  customer  name 
and  address  data,  product 
numbers  and  pricing  data, 
and  shipping  and  inventory 
information.  It  makes  the 
company  far  more  efficient 
and  organized  to  keep  the 
data  in  one  database,  let- 
ting each  user  access  the 
data  that  he  or  she  needs. 

LANs  improve  communi- 
cations by  offering  a  way  of 
sending  messages  elec- 
tronically. Many  networks 
have  full-fledged  mail  sys- 
tems, called  electronic  mail 
(E-mail),  through  which 
users  can  send  each  other 


CONTENTS 


WHY  USE  A  NETWORK? 63 

BASIC  NETWARE  COMMANDS 64 

TRICKS  YOUR  NETWORK  ADMINISTRATOR 
NEVER  TOLD  YOU  ABOUT. 68 

HOW  TO  CHOOSE  A  HOME  OFFICE 
NETWORK 70 

ONE-MAN-LAN, ....70 

COACTIVE  CONNECTOR 70 

WINDOWS  FOR  WORKGROUPS 70 

PERSONAL  NETWARE 71 

HOW  TO  INSTALL  A  HOME  OFFICE 
NETWORK 71 


COMPUTE'S  Getting  Started  with  Personal 
Networking  was  written  by  Anne  Fischer  Lent,  who  is 
coauthor  of  The  Windows  for  Workgroups  Bible 
(Addison-Wesiey,  1993). 


everything  from  corporate 
memos  to  informal  hellos. 

LANs  save  money  by  let- 
ting corporations  license 
network  versions  of  soft- 
ware to  share  among  users. 
Likewise,  there  can  be 
major  savings  in  hardware 
purchasing  because  each 
network  may  need  only  one 
of  each  device.  Rather  than 
equipping  each  user  with 
his  or  her  own  set  of  office 
equipment,  a  company  can 
create  a  network  consisting 
of  a  group  of  microcomput- 
ers with,  for  example,  one 
laser  printer,  one  tape 
backup  unit,  one  CD-ROM 
drive,  one  fax  machine,  and 
one  hard  drive.  By  saving 
money  in  this  way,  it's  often 
possible  to  purchase  high- 
er-quality equipment  for  the 
group  than  would  have 
been  possible  for  each 
individual. 

Kinds  of  Networks 

LANs  are  divided  into  two 
types:  client-server  and 
peer-to-peer.  A  client-serv- 
er network  has  one  or  more 
central  computers,  called 
file  servers,  to  which  are 
connected  all  the  other 
workstations.  A  workstation 
is  a  personal  computer  con- 
nected to  a  file  server.  The 
file  server  controls  all  net- 
work activity,  such  as  who 
can  use  the  system  and 
what  data  users  have 
access  to.  The  advantages 
of  client-server  networks 
include  control,  security, 
and  speed.  Drawbacks  can 
include  high  cost,  difficult 
installation,  and  overdepen- 
dence  on  a  single  system 
(the  server).  When  the  serv- 
er goes  down,  the  whole 
network  goes  down. 

A  peer-to-peer  network 
is  a  group  of  microcomput- 
ers in  which  no  single  sys- 
tem is  in  charge  and  all 
workstations  operate  as 
equals.  Each  workstation 

MARCH    1994     COMPUTE     63 


COMPUTE'S  GETTING  STARTED  WITH1 


PERSONAL  NETWORKING 


can  share  its  files  and 
applications  with  any  other 
workstations  connected  to 
the  network.  The  benefits  of 
peer-to-peer  networking 
include  simplicity,  lower 
cost,  ease  of  installation, 
and  ease  of  maintenance. 
The  drawbacks  can  include 
insufficient  security,  inade- 
quate control,  and  lack  of 
speed. 

With  the  two  basic  types 
of  LANs  defined,  it's  impor- 
tant to  understand  that 
there  are  several  varieties 
within  each  category,  just 
as  there's  a  range  of  uses 
for  each  type.  What  type  of 
LAN  you  need  depends  on 
your  intended  use  for  it. 

NetWare:  A  Client- 
Server  Approach 

Novell  NetWare  is  an  exam- 
ple of  a  client-server  net- 
work. What  sets  the  client- 
server  network  apart  from 
the  peer-to-peer  network  is 
the  function  of  the  file  serv- 
er. It,  too,  is  a  personal 
computer,  but  it  runs  an 
operating  system  such  as 
NetWare  to  control  the  net- 
work. The  file  server  con- 
trols all  the  workstations  on 
the  network  in  terms  of  how 
they  access  network 
resources.  A  network 
administrator  manages  the 
file  server  by  overseeing 
network  security,  trou- 
bleshooting problems,  and 
more. 

The  workstations  con- 
nected to  a  NetWare  net- 
work can  still  function  as 
separate  computers  with 
their  own  operating  sys- 
tems. In  fact,  even  when 
your  computer  is  connected 
to  a  network,  what  you  see 
on  the  screen  may  look  the 
same  as  when  you're  not  on 
a  network.  But  when  you 
access  the  file  server,  the 
work  you  send  back  and 
forth  is  subject  to  the  rights 
and  restrictions  imposed  by 

64      COMPUTE    MARCH    1994 


the  network  administrator. 
Often,  the  network  adminis- 
trator takes  care  of  setting 
users  up  on  the  network, 
which  entails  physically 
connecting  the  workstation 
to  the  file  server,  as  well  as 
adding  the  user  name  and 
assigning  a  password. 
Users  generally  know  just 
enough  to  get  their  jobs 
done  on  the  network,  but 
knowing  a  bit  more  of  the 
way  the  network  works  can 
sometimes  help  guide  you 
to  some  shortcuts  and 
quick  fixes  that  may  simplify 
your  networking  tasks. 

To  begin,  it's  important 
to  understand  how  a  work- 
station communicates  with 
the  file  server.  First,  there's 
the  hardware  connection, 
which  consists  of  a  net- 
working card  installed  in  the 
workstation  with  a  cable 
that  connects  to  the  file 
server.  The  second  piece  of 
the  puzzle  is  the  software. 
The  shell  is  the  software 
needed  for  the  workstation 
to  communicate  with  the  file 
server.  The  network  admin- 
istrator loads  the  shell  onto 
each  workstation.  The  shell 
directs  your  commands 
either  to  your  own  worksta- 
tion or  to  the  file  server, 
depending  on  what  kind  of 
command  it  is. 

To  understand  how  the 
file  server  stores  the  infor- 
mation you  send  it,  think  of 
a  file  cabinet  as  an  analogy. 
The  file  server  is  the  cabi- 
net. Within  it  are  the  draw- 
ers, or  volumes  (which  are 
the  drive  letters).  Within  the 
drawers  (volumes)  are  fold- 
ers, or  directories.  Within 
those  folders  (directories) 
are  pieces  of  paper,  or  files. 

BASIC  NETWARE 
COMMANDS 

In  many  corporations,  the 
network  administrator  will 
create  menus  of  commands 
for  the  staff  to  use  daily  to 


perform  their  network  tasks. 
After  the  administrator  has 
created  menus  for  you  to 
use,  you  can  access  a  par- 
ticular application  or  tool  by 
simply  clicking  on  the 
appropriate  menu  item. 
Your  job  may  not  require 
you  to  access  anything  but 
menu  utilities,  but  it's  impor- 
tant that  you  know  that  you 
can  enter  commands  at  the 
DOS  command  line.  Many 
powerful  options  await  you 
there. 

Listed  below  are  five 
essential  NetWare  com- 
mands. If  you're  not  already 
activating  them  through 
menu  shortcuts,  it's  impor- 
tant that  you  know  what 
they  are  and  how  to  use 
them. 

Capture 

syntax:  capture  option 

Use  the  Capture  com- 
mand to  print  screen 
dumps  or  to  save  data  to  a 
network  file.  End  the  cap- 
ture by  typing  endcap. 

To  save  data  to  a  net- 
work file,  type  capture 
cr=path  and  press  the  Enter 
key.  Replace  the  word  path 
with  the  directory  path 
including  the  filename 
where  you  want  to  save  a 
file.  The  rest  of  the  proce- 
dure is  the  same  as  printing 
screen  dumps. 

Help 

syntax:  help  command 
name 

As  its  name  implies,  this 
command  gives  you  infor- 
mation about  NetWare 
utilities,  messages,  and 
concepts. 

Login  and  Logout 
syntax:  login  /option  file 

server/name 
syntax:  logout 

This  is  what  you  do  when 


you  turn  on  your  PC  and  log 
in  to  the  network.  Generally, 
your  network  administrator 
has  automated  this  task  for 
you.  Using  Login  gives  you 
access  to  a  file  server's 
resources.  If  your  name  is 
Steven,  for  example,  and 
your  file  server  is  named 
pirate,  you  type  login  pirate 
Steven.  You'll  then  be 
prompted  for  your  pass- 
word. Simply  type  logout  to 
sign  off  the  network. 

Send 

syntax:  send  "message"  to 
usemame 

This  is  the  command  that 
lets  you  send  short  mes- 
sages or  bulletins  to  other 
users  on  the  network.  You 
can  send  messages  to  indi- 
vidual users  by  their  user 
names,  or  you  can  address 
them  to  everyone  on  the 
network  by  typing  the  word 
everybody  after  the  word  to. 

Setpass 

syntax:  setpass  fileserver 
/usemame 

It's  a  good  idea  to 
change  your  password 
periodically,  and  to  do  so, 
you  use  the  Setpass  com- 
mand. This  command  will 
not,  however,  work  for  those 
who  have  forgotten  their 
passwords.  If  there's 
already  one  assigned  to 
your  user  name,  you'll  need 
to  know  it  before  you  can 
change  it. 

You  also  use  the 
Setpass  command  to  cre- 
ate a  new  password.  To 
create  or  change  your 
password,  if  your  file  server 
is  named  pirate  and  your 
name  is  Steven,  you  type 
setpass  pirate  Steven.  If 
you're  changing  your  pass- 
word, you  have  to  enter  the 
old  one.  If  you're  creating  a 
new  password,  just  press 
the  Enter  key. 


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COMPUTE'S  GETTING  STARTED  WITH1 


PERSONAL  NETWORKING 


Who's  on  First? 

NetWare  has  several  utili- 
ties that  give  you  informa- 
tion on  such  things  as  who 
you  are,  who  else  is  logged 
in,  and  what  level  of  access 
you  have  to  a  particular  file. 
Below  are  listed  nine  utili- 
ties that  will  get  you  just 
about  all  the  information 
you  need. 

Chkvol  and  Chkdir 
syntax:  chkvol  path 
syntax:  chkdir  path 

When  you  need  to  know 
how  full  your  file  cabinet  is, 
you  start  by  opening  a 
drawer  and  peering  in. 
Chkvol  and  Chkdir  do  much 
the  same  thing.  Remember 
that  volumes  are  the  draw- 
ers and  directories  are  the 
files  within  the  drawers. 
When  you  need  to  check  a 
volume,  type  chkvol.  When 
you  need  to  get  more  spe- 
cific and  check  directories, 
type  chkdir.  These  com- 
mands let  you  see  space 
limitations,  maximum  stor- 
age capacity,  the  number 
of  kilobytes  currently  in  use, 
and  the  number  of  kilobytes 
available  on  the  volume  and 
in  the  specified  directory. 

Fconsole 

This  is  a  menu  utility, 
meaning  that  when  you 
type  it,  you  get  a  set  of 
options  in  a  pop-up  menu. 
This  command  is  commonly 
used  by  network  adminis- 
trators to  view  user  connec- 
tion information  and  to  alter 
the  status  of  the  file  server. 
But  network  users  can  find 
it  useful  to  change  file 
servers,  view  current  user 
connection  information,  and 
view  the  version  of  NetWare 
currently  running  on  the 
server.  If  you  select 
Connection  Information, 
you'll  get  a  list  of  the  names 
and    logical   connection 

66      COMPUTE    MARCH    1994 


NetWare's  Salvage  helps  you  undelete  network  files. 


numbers  of  all  users  who 
are  logged  in  to  the  current 
file  server.  This  list  is  updat- 
ed every  two  seconds. 

Listdir 

syntax:  listdir  path  option 

For  the  network  user  who 
doesn't  actually  "own"  any 
directories  (the  owner  is  the 
creator),  this  command  is 
more  useful  than  Filer  (see 
below)  for  viewing  directo- 
ries and  subdirectories, 
including  their  creation 
dates  and  rights. 

Ndir 

syntax:  ndir  path  /option 

Ndir  lets  you  view  infor- 
mation about  files  and  sub- 
directories in  a  given  direc- 
tory, including  filenames, 
sizes  of  files  in  bytes,  dates 
and  times  that  files  were 
last  modified,  dates  that 
files  were  last  accessed, 
files  that  need  to  be 
archived,  dates  that  files 
were  last  archived,  dates 
that  files  were  created  or 
copied,  attributes  assigned 
to  files,  and  the  owners  of 
the  files.  Use  the  Ndir 
option  to  specify  which  set 
of  files  you  want  to  view  in  a 
directory.  When  you  type 
ndir,  replace  path  with  a 
directory  path  leading  to 
and  including  the  directory 
and  file  you  want  to  view. 
Replace  option  with  one  of 
the      many      command 


options,  including  sort,  for- 
mat, attribute,  and  restric- 
tion options.  See  your 
NetWare  documentation  for 
more  detailed  information 
on  these  options. 

Psc 

syntax:  psc  ps=printserver 
p=phntemumber  flaglist 

If  you've  ever  sent  a  print 
job  off  to  a  network  printer 
only  to  wonder  if  it  was  ever 
received,  you  can  use  Psc 
to  see  the  status  of  print 
servers  and  network  print- 
ers. To  do  this,  type  psc 
and  replace  printserver  W\\h 
the  name  of  the  print  server. 
Replace  printernumber  with 
the  number  of  the  printer,  if 
you  have  one.  Replace 
flaglist  with  stat  (for  status), 
which  will  tell  you  if  the 
printer  is  waiting  for  a  job, 
currently  printing,  or  offline, 
among  other  things.  There 
are  other  handy  flags  to  use 
with  Psc.  See  your  NetWare 
documentation  for  a  com- 
plete list. 

Rights 

syntax:  rights  path 

If  you  try  to  access  a  file 
or  directory  but  are  told  that 
you  don't  have  rights  to  it, 
you  can  check  your  privi- 
leges by  using  the  Rights 
utility.  Type  rights  and 
replace  path  with  any  direc- 
tory path  leading  to  the  vol- 
ume, directory,  subdirecto- 


ry, or  file  where  you  want  to 
view  your  rights. 

Slist 

syntax:  slist  fileserver/c 

When  you  need  to  know 
what  file  servers  are  con- 
nected to  your  NetWare  net- 
work, you  can  use  Slist  to 
view  a  list  of  the  file  servers 
and  to  get  information  about 
them,  including  node 
address  and  status.  To  view 
information  about  one  file 
server,  replace  the  word 
fileserver  with  the  name  of 
that  server.  Include  lc  (for 
continuous)  as  shown  if  you 
want  the  list  of  file  servers  to 
scroll  down  the  screen  with- 
out stopping. 

Userlist 

syntax:  userlist  fileserver/ 
name 

After  you  use  the  com- 
mand Slist  to  find  out  what 
file  servers  are  connected 
to  the  network,  you  can  use 
Userlist  to  view  a  list  of  cur- 
rent users  for  a  given  file 
server.  Userlist  will  also  give 
you  each  user's  connection 
number,  log-in  time,  net- 
work address,  and  node 
address,  and  it  will  tell  what 
kind  of  object  it  is  (such  as 
a  printer,  modem,  or  work- 
station). To  use  the  com- 
mand, type  userlist  and 
replace  fileserver  with  the 
name  of  the  file  server  if  it's 
not  the  default  server. 
Replace  name  with  the 
name  of  a  user  whose  con- 
nection number  and  log-in 
time  you  want  to  view. 

Whoami 
syntax:  whoami 

If  you  ever  need  to  know 
your  user  name,  what  server 
you're  attached  to,  what  ver- 
sion of  NetWare  you're  run- 
ning, and  when  you  logged 
in,  use  the  Whoami  com- 


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COMPUTE'S  GETTING  STARTED  WITH1 


PERSONAL  NETWORKING 


mand.  By  including  other 
options,  such  as  the  name 
of  a  particular  file  server  fol- 
lowed by  /g,  you  can  get 
more  specific  information  on 
what  groups  you  belong  to 
on  that  particular  server. 
Many  options  offer  you  a 
range  of  information.  Refer 
to  the  NetWare  documenta- 
tion for  a  complete  list. 

TRICKS  YOUR  NETWORK 
ADMINISTRATOR  NEVER 
TOLD  YOU  ABOUT 

Finally,  you're  finding  your 
way  around  the  network  by 
using  the  commands  above 
to  call  up  all  kinds  of  infor- 
mation. Now  what  about 
venturing  beyond  the 
menus  and  using  NetWare 
commands  to  actually  per- 
form some  network  tricks  of 
your  own?  Understand, 
however,  that  this  is  where 
you're  stepping  over  a  fine 
line  and  into  the  world  of 
the  NetWare  power  user, 
which  may  instill  fear  in  your 
network  administrator's 
heart.  Eight  tasks  you  can 
perform  on  your  own  are 
listed  below.  Assuming  that 
your  network  is  set  up  with 
the  proper  security,  you 
shouldn't  be  in  any  danger 
of  impinging  on  any  other 
network  user's  workspace. 

Castoff  and  Caston 
syntax:  castoff  all 
syntax:  caston 

When  you're  performing 
an  operation  on  your  com- 
puter that  you  really  don't 
want  interrupted  by  any 
kind  of  message,  use 
Castoff.  It  will  block  mes- 
sages sent  from  all  network 
stations,  including  the  file 
server  if  you  type  all,  as 
shown  above.  If  you  want  to 
block  only  the  messages 
from  other  workstations  and 
not  those  from  the  file  serv- 
er, omit  all.  When  you're 
ready  to  accept  messages 

68      COMPUTE    MARCH    1994 


again,  type  caston. 

Filer 

This  is  a  menu  utility  that 
lets  you  view  current  direc- 
tory information,  including 
who  the  owner  of  the  direc- 
tory is,  when  it  was  created, 
what  the  directory  attributes 
are,  the  rights,  and  the 
directory's  trustees.  You 
can  make  changes  to  direc- 
tories and  files  with  Filer 
only  if  you're  the  owner  (the 
person  who  created  them). 
For  example,  you  may  want 
to  specify  which  directories 
and  files  won't  appear 
when  someone  else  lists  the 
contents.  This  utility  is  also 
used  extensively  by 
network  administrators  to 
set  or  change  access 
privileges. 

Nbackup 

Network  users  can  use 
this  menu  utility  to  back  up 
information  on  directories 
where  they  have  the  right  to 
read  and  scan  for  files. 
Nbackup  lets  you  change 
the  server  you're  currently 


attached  to  and  back  up 
and  restore  files. 

Ncopy 

syntax:  ncopy  path  1  file 
name  to  path2  /option 

When  you  need  to  copy 
one  or  more  files  from  one 
network  directory  to  anoth- 
er, Ncopy  is  the  command 
to  use.  Unlike  DOS's  Copy, 
Ncopy  preserves  the 
NetWare  file  attributes  and 
so  is  better  to  use  on  a  net- 
work. When  you  type  it, 
replace  pathl  with  a  direc- 
tory path  leading  to  and 
including  the  file  you  want 
to  copy.  Replace  path2 with 
a  directory  path  leading  to 
and  including  the  volume, 
directory,  or  subdirectory 
you  want  to  copy  the  file  to. 
You  can  even  rename  the 
file  at  this  time  by  just 
including  the  new  filename 
in  the  path  you  specify. 

Nprint 

syntax:  nprint  path  option 

Use  Nprint  to  print  DOS 
text  or  formatted  files  from 
outside  an  application  to  a 


One-Man-LAN  includes  two  add-in  cards  and  a  12-foot  cable. 


network  printer.  When  you 
type  it,  replace  path  with  a 
directory  path  leading  to 
and  including  the  name  of 
the  file  you  want  to  print. 
Replace  option  with  one  of 
several  options  (see  your 
NetWare  documentation), 
including  c=  followed  by 
the  number  of  copies  you 
want  to  print. 

Purge 

syntax:  purge  filenamel 
path  /all 

Erasing  files  doesn't  com- 
pletely delete  them.  In  fact, 
you  can  use  the  Salvage  util- 
ity (explained  below)  to  bring 
erased  files  back  to  life.  But 
Purge  puts  an  end  to  them 
once  and  for  all.  Use  great 
caution  with  this  one,  howev- 
er, because  you'll  lose  all 
recoverable  files  in  your  cur- 
rent directory  if  you  use  it 
alone  or  with  *.*.  Fortunately, 
Purge  destroys  only  the  files 
that  you  created  or  most 
recently  modified. 

Salvage 

If  you've  ever  deleted  a 
file  and  then  regretted 
doing  so,  Salvage  is  the 
utility  for  you.  From 
Salvage's  main  menu,  you 
can  choose  to  view  all 
deleted  files,  recover  or 
purge  files  that  have  been 
erased  from  your  worksta- 
tion, or  restore  files  to  their 
original  directories  or  to  the 
DELETED.SAV  directory. 

Wsupdate 

syntax:  wsupdate  source 
path  destination  drive 
destination  filename 
/option 

Network  administrators 
are  usually  responsible  for 
making  sure  that  all  copies 
of  network  software  get 
updated,  but  sometimes 
you   may  find   that  your 


Between  The'Devil  An 
The  Deep  Blue  Se 


IF- 


f'~ 


They  WERE  DESPERATE, 
DARING  AND  DEADLY! 

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when  you're  a  naval  aviator  in  1942,  The  Pacific  Air  War,  the  ultimate 
simulation  of  air  combat  in  the  South  Pacific. 

Taking  on  the  same  challenges  that  World  War  II  fighter  pilots  faced, 
your  tour  of  duty  includes  some  of  the  most  heroic  battles  ever  fought. 
Battles  that  will  have  you  chasing  down  Wildcats,  Corsairs,  and  Zeros 
in  death-defying  dogfights.  Performing  high-speed  dives  upon  heavily 
defended  carriers.  And  pushing  your  skills  to  the  limit  as  you  master 
WW  II  air  combat  in  an  innovative  virtual  cockpit. 

The  outcome  of  the  war  in  the  Pacific  turns  upon  your  actions. 
Your  task  force  is  depending  on  you.  And  the  skies  are  yours  to 
control  in  1942,  The  Pacific  Air  War. 


CHALLENGE  the  enemy  at  the  battles  of  Coral  Sea,  Midway, 
Eastern  Solomons,  Santa  Cruz,  and  the  Philippine  Sea! 

COMMAND  U.S.  or  Japanese  forces! 

PILOT  any  of  ten  historically-accurate  planes,  each  with  its 
authentic  cockpit  and  flight  characteristics! 

SWEAT  over  the  comprehensive  strategy  for  all  naval  forces! 

EXPERIENCE  the  thrill  of  head-to-head  dogfights  with  a 
friend  via  modem  connection. 


i 


PROSE 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  111 
!  1993  MicroProse.  ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 
For  IBM-PC/Compatibles. 


-*«■ 


COMPUTE'S  GETTING  STARTED  WITH 


PERSONAL  NETWORKING 


FOUR  LOW-COST  PEER-TO-PEER  NETWORKS 


Product 

One-Man-LAN 
Coactive  Connector 
Windows  for-  Workgroups 
Personal  NetWare 


Company 

PC  Interconnect 
Coactive  Computing 
Microsoft 
Novell 


Cost 

$199  for  one  user  (two  PCs) 

$300  for  two  users 

$300  for  two  users 

$99  for  one  user,  $395  for  five  users 


NetWare  shell  program  or 
other  files  are  out-of-date. 
You  can  remedy  this  your- 
self by  using  Wsupdate  to 
update  workstation  files 
from  the  file  server. 
Wsupdate  makes  sure  you 
have  the  most  recent  copy 
of  the  required  files.  To  use 
Wsupdate,  just  replace 
source  path  with  a  full 
directory  path  including  the 
filename  of  the  current  file. 
Replace  destination  drive 
with  the  name  of  a  specific 
drive,  or  you  can  type  ail  to 
search  all  valid  drives  for 
the  workstation.  Other 
options  are  available.  See 
your  NetWare  documenta- 
tion for  a  complete  list. 

HOW  TO  CHOOSE  A 
HOME  OFFICE 
NETWORK 

In  the  past,  the  cost  and  com- 
plexity of  LANs  limited  their 
use  to  large  corporations. 
Fortunately,  today  we  have  a 
range  of  choices  in  lower- 
cost,  easier-to-use  peer-to- 
peer  networks.  The  new  peer- 
to-peer  networks  give  you 
out-of-the-box  connectivity. 
You  don't  have  to  be  an  elec- 
trical engineer  to  install  them, 
and  you  don't  have  to  hire  a 
network  administrator  to  run 
them.  Assuming  that  you 
have  basic  computer  knowl- 
edge, you  can  hook  up  your 
own  network  in  your  home 
office  and  have  all  the  con- 
veniences of  a  LAN  at  your 
fingertips. 

The  benefits  that  you 
can  get  out  of  a  peer-to- 
peer  network  in  your  home 
office  are  the  same  as 
those  derived  from  a  larger 

70     COMPUTE    MARCH    1994 


network  in  a  larger  corpora- 
tion, but  on  a  smaller  and 
simpler  scale.  Your  three 
most  common  tasks  are 
communications,  file  shar- 
ing, and  peripheral  sharing. 
If  your  home  office  has 
more  than  one  computer, 
you  can  save  money  by  let- 
ting them  share  a  printer,  a 
modem,  a  CD-ROM  drive, 
and  other  peripherals. 
Home  offices  can  also 
make  use  of  E-mail,  chat, 
and  scheduling  functions — 
though  not  all  the  peer-to- 
peer  networks  offer  these 
capabilities. 

To  make  a  choice 
among  the  baffling  array  of 
peer-to-peer  networks  on 
the  market,  you  must  first 
assess  your  needs.  How 
many  systems  do  you  need 
to  connect?  Will  you  be 
sharing  applications  or  just 
files?  Will  you  need  a  full- 
fledged  E-mail  facility  that 
lets  you  send  documents, 
or  is  a  simple  chat  feature 
(usually  allowing  you  to 
send  a  message  of  up  to  40 
characters)  all  you  need? 
And  what  about  future 
growth?  Will  your  needs 
remain  the  same,  or  will  you 
someday  want  to  connect 
to  a  client-server  network, 
such  as  NetWare?  Once 
you've  determined  how 
much  of  a  peer-to-peer  net- 
work you  need,  you  can 
focus  more  clearly  on  a 
smaller  selection  of  net- 
works. Let's  look  briefly  at 
four  very  different  offerings. 

One-Man-LAN 

This-unique  product*  is 
designed  specifically  for 


the  home  office  user  who 
needs  to  connect  more 
than  one  system  for  use  by 
only  one  person.  One-Man- 
LAN  comes  with  two  add-in 
carcls,  a  12-foot  cable,  soft- 
ware, and  a  user's  guide. 
After  .installing  the  cards 
and  the  software,  you  can 
use  your  primary  PC  to 
access  files  on  your  second 
PC  by  typing  oml.  Typing  q 
brings  you  back  to  your  pri- 
mary PC  again.  The  inter- 
connected PCs  can  be 
located  up  to  100  feet 
away.  This  product  seems 
ideal  for  the  home  user  who 
might  have  an  older  PC  as 
a  secondary  system.  You 
can  use  the  hard  disk  on 
the  second  PC  as  if  it  were 
an  additional  drive  on  your 
primary  system.  One-Man- 
LAN  also  lets  you  access 
printers  connected  to  the 
second  PC. 

Coactive  Connector 

Instant  networking  is  what 
you  can  get 'with  Coactive 
Computing's  Coactive 
Connector  for  Windows. 


This  peer-to-peer  AppleTalk 
network  attaches  to  your 
parallel  port,  which  means 
that'there  are  no  add-in 
cards  to  install  in  your  sys- 
tem. Also  included  is  an  AC 
adapter  for  each  Connector 
and  software.  Coactive 
Connector  transfers  data 
slowly  (230.4  Kbps),  but  it's 
fast  enough  for  file  and 
printer  sharing.  The  fact 
that  this  network  solution  is 
an  AppleTalk  network 
means  that  you  can  include 
a  Macintosh  with  your 
Windows-based  PCs  in 
your  home  office  setup. 
Macintosh  Connectors  cost 
only  $29  each. 

Windows  for 
Workgroups 

What  sets  Microsoft's 
Windows  for  Workgroups 
apart  is  that,  unlike  the 
other  networks,  this  one  is 
Windows.  It  lets  you  run 
Windows  or  upgrade  to  the 
latest  version — and  have 
networking  capability.  The 
Starter  Kit  comes  with  two 
copies  of  Windows  for 
Workgroups  software  (ver- 
sion 3.11);  two  16-bit  net- 
work cards;  terminators,  T- 
connectors,  and  25  feet  of 
Ethernet  cable;  an  installa- 
tion video;  and  a  screwdriv- 
er. Windows  for  Work- 
groups is  easy  to  set  up 
and  maintain,  and  it  offers 


File  Manager 


Coactive  Connector  lets  your  PC  access  networked  Macintosh  files. 


PERSONAL  NETWORKING 


E-mail,  a  schedule  utility,  a 
fax  utility,  and  several  levels 
of  security  options.  The 
beauty,  of  Windows  for 
Workgroups  for  the  home 
user  is  that  when  you  don't 
have  a  need  to  be  on  the 
network,  you  can  just  use 
the  product  as  Windows 
and  run  all  of  your  regular 
Windows  applications  just 
as  you  would  if  you  weren't 
on  a  network. 

Personal  NetWare 

Novell's  recently  released 
peer-to-peer  network,  Per- 
sonal NetWare,  lets  you  add 
networking  capabilities  to 
DOS  or  Windows.  Unlike 
Windows  for  Workgroups,  it 
does  not  include  Windows, 
so  you'll  have  to  install 
Windows  and  then  install 
Personal  NetWare  on  top  of 
it.  Like  Windows  for  Work- 
groups, Personal  NetWare 
is  simple  to  install  and 
maintain,  although  you  can't 
get  the  Starter  Kit  configura- 
tion (including  everything 
you  need  to  set  up  a  two- 
user  network)  that  Windows 
for  Workgroups  offers. 
Personal  NetWare  also 
offers  several  levels  of 
security  options. 

HOW  TO  INSTALL  A 
HOME  OFFICE 
NETWORK 

Most  peer-to-peer  networks 
are  designed  to  be  simple 
to  install.  In  reality,  they  do 
require  some  degree  of 
familiarity  with  PCs.  Most 
networks  come  with  add-in 
cards  or  network  interface 
cards  (NICs).  You  need  to 
install  one  NIC  in  each  com- 
puter that  will  run  on  the 
network.  Next,  there's  the 
cabling  that's  needed  to 
connect  the  PCs.  Many  net- 
works come  with  a  minimal 
length  of  thin  coaxial  cable. 
Most  network  cards  have 
built-in  connectors.  You  just 
plug  one  connector  on  the 


cable  into  the  network  card 
in  one  PC  and  run  the  cable 
to  the  next  PC,  where  you 
use  a  T-connector.  At  the 
end  point  of  the  network, 
you  need  a  terminator, 
which  is  a  resistor  that  tells 
the  electrical  signals  that 
they've  reached  the  end. 

Software  installation 
varies  widely  from  product 
to  product.  We'll  focus  here 
on  Windows  for  Workgroups 
because  it  offers  powerful 


ically  configures  your  sys- 
tem, detects  your  hardware, 
and  modifies  your  AUTOEX- 
EC.BAT and  CONFIG.SYS 
files  for  you.  During  the 
setup  procedure,  you'll  also 
be  asked  for  your  name, 
your  company  name  (which 
is  optional),  a  name  for  your 
computer,  the  name  of  your 
work  group,  the  type  of 
printer  connected  to  your 
PC,  and  which  port  the 
printer  is  attached  to. 


—I        Security  Setting  b  -  C1WINDOWS\WFWSYS.CfrG 


Staling  Options 
D  Disable  E**  Sharing 
D  Disable  P_rint  Staling 
D  Disable  Njetwork  DDE 


ft         ffl 

VArfHssup      ftogbwi 


Password  Options 

D  Show  Stare  P_asswoids  in  Staling  Dialogs 
D  Logon  Passwoid  £xpii«tion 

CH  "■■>■< 


Q  Minimum  Passwoid  Length 

czm- 


Q  Force  Alphanumeric  Passwoids 

D  Requite  Validated  Logon  to  Windows  NT 
01  LAN  Manager  Domain 

Q  Allow  Caching  of  Usei-Level  Passwords 


[j™t     ] 


Windows  for  Workgroups  3.11  offers  several  security  options. 


networking  capability  for  a 
minimum  of  installation 
effort.  Assuming  that  your 
hardware  is  up  and  running, 
you  can  now  install  the  soft- 
ware. With  Windows  for 
Workgroups,  you  have  a 
choice  of  installing  it  for  the 
first  time  (whether  or  not 
you  have  Windows  on  your 
system)  or  upgrading  to  a 
new  version  of  Windows  for 
Workgroups. 

Let's  assume  that  we're 
installing  it  for  the  very  first 
time,  with  no  previous  ver- 
sion of  Windows  on  the  sys- 
tem. The  installation 
process  is  as  follows: 

Insert  disk  1  into  your  A 
drive  and  type  a:setup. 

You'll  be  asked  whether 
you  want  to  use  Express 
Setup  or  Custom.  Choose 
Express  because  it  automat- 


Standard  or  Enhanced 

You  have  a  choice  of  run- 
ning Windows  for  Work- 
groups in  standard  or 
enhanced  mode.  The  differ- 
ence depends  on  your 
hardware:  standard  mode 
requires  at  least  a  286  with 
2MB  of  RAM;  enhanced 
mode  requires  at  least  a 
386SX  with  3MB  of  RAM. 
Enhanced  mode  gives  you 
access  to  the  virtual-memo- 
ry capability  of  the  386SX, 
letting  Windows  applica- 
tions use  more  memory 
than  is  physically  available 
in  DOS.  Enhanced  mode 
also  allows  multitasking  of 
DOS-based  applications.  In 
order  to  share  system 
resources,  such  as  files  and 
printer,  you  need  at  least  a 
386  processor  running  in 
enhanced  mode. 


After  following  the  instal- 
lation steps,  you  must 
reboot  your  system  to  install 
the  network  drivers  that  are 
needed  to  communicate 
with  other  systems.  You'll 
get  a  message  onscreen 
that  tells  you  when  to  do 
this.  Make  sure  you've 
taken  the  last  floppy  disk 
out  of  the  disk  drive  and 
click  on  the  Restart  button. 
After  your  system  reboots, 
you'll  be  back  in  DOS.  Just 
type  win  and  press  the 
Enter  key  at  the  DOS 
prompt.  You  should  get  the 
Windows  hourglass  on  your 
screen  as  Windows  loads. 

Now  you  can  go  back 
and  customize  the  setup  in 
a  variety  of  ways.  You  can 
adjust  keyboard  speed, 
change  desktop  colors,  add 
a  screen  saver,  change  or 
create  icons,  and  more. 
You'll  want  to  pay  special 
attention  to  your  security 
needs.  Finally,  you'll  need 
to  familiarize  yourself  with 
the  whole  work  group  con- 
cept, including  the  practice 
of  sharing  files  and  hard- 
ware devices  and  commu- 
nicating over  the  network 
with  other  users. 

Networking  can  be  as 
basic  as  hooking  up  the 
One-Man-LAN,  which  lets 
one  user  operate  two  sys- 
tems. It  can  be  as  simple  as 
installing  the  board-free 
Coactive  Connector.  It  can 
be  as  sophisticated  as  the 
next  version  of  Windows 
coupled  with  networking 
ability,  as  with  Windows  for 
Workgroups.  Or  your  net- 
work can  leave  you  room  for 
growth,  as  with  Novell's 
Personal  NetWare,  which 
gives  you  a  path  to  the  high- 
er-level client-server  Net- 
Ware network.  Fortunately, 
considering  the  variety  of 
sizes  and  configurations  of 
home  offices,  there  are  a 
variety  of  choices  among 
peer-to-peer  networks.        3 

MARCH    1994     COMPUTE     71 


What  A  Way  To  See  The  Future. 


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the  eyes  of  a  Personal  Daily  PlanIC  your  Illustrated^  or  Planlt  Adrenaline" 

multimedia  guide  through  modern  life.  It's  showcasing  action  footage  from  Warren 

the  world's  first  voice  controlled  organizer.  Miller  Entertainment.1" 


A  personal 
"video  assistant" 
and  an  enter- 
taining daily 
travelogue.. .all 
in  one  CD-ROM 
or  diskette-based 
package. 

Choose  from 
Planlt  Earth"  in  support  of  the  National 
Wildlife  Federation®  Planlt  Paradise" 


IE 

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i  •  *  h    B 

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Contains  every 
imaginable  feature! 

•  Complete  Personal 
Information 
Management  System 

•  Voice  Annotation  & 
Command:  Hands-free 
voice  interaction 
(microphone  required) 

Visual  Entertainment:  Over  25  film  clips 
and  430  images  of  your  favorite  pastimes 


•  Humor  &  Trivia:  Listen  each  day  to  a 
joke  from  National  Lampoon"  a  brain- 
twister  from  "Isaac  Asimov's  Book  of 
Facts''  or  a  computerized  fortune  cookie 

•  Easy  Icon-Driven  Design:  Master 
all  the  features  on  Day  1 

Make  a  date  with  a  Personal  Daily 
Planlt.  Call  Media  Vision  today,  or  visit 
your  local  software  dealer. 


MEDIA  VISION 


"eda  Vision,  Inc.,  47300  Bay-side  Parkway,  Fremont,  CA  94538  (510)  770-8600  Fax  (510)  770-9592.  fttofc  Vision,  The  Wedia  Vision  !ogor  Peisoncl  Dcily  Planlt,  Planlt  Adrenaline,  Planlt  Earth  and  Planlt  Paradise  are  trademarks  of  Media  Vision,  Inc. 
©  1 993  Media  Vision,  Inc.  All  ather  trademarks  and  registered  trademarks  ere  those  of  their  respective  owners.  All  rights  reserved.  Diskette  version  features  fewer  visual  entertainmeat  elemeats. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  192 


COMDEX  SOUNDS  OFF 

FAST  FORWARD 

FOR  MULTIMEDIA 


BY  DAVID  ENGLISH 


Fall  COMDEX  is  a  huge  trade  show.  This  year,  the  man- 
agement estimated  that  about  170,000  people  viewed 
over  2100  computer-related  exhibits.  A  large  portion  of 
this  normally  staid  convention  was  devoted  to  multime- 
dia. In  fact,  the  multimedia  section  was  so  big  that  it 
would  have  filled  two-thirds  of  the  main  hall. 

So  what  was  hot  in  multimedia  at  this  year's  Fall 
COMDEX?  You  couldn't  swing  a  joystick  without  hitting  a 
company  with  a  new  video  or  sound  card.  Sigma  Designs 
(510-770-0100)  showed  its  new  ReelMagic  video  card 
($449),  which  offers  full-motion,  full-screen  playback  of 
MPEG  video  files.  Software  support  for  the  new  format  will 
be  coming  from  such  industry  stalwarts  as 
Access,  Compton's  New  Media,  Interplay 
Sierra  On-Line,  and  Virgin.  Orchid  (510- 
683-0300)  touted  its  Vidiola  line  of 
video  cards,  which  use  the 
AuraVision  chip  to  intelligently 
scale  AVI  files  to  full-screen.  ATI 
Technologies  (416-882-2600) 
announced  its  new  Video 
Wonder  ($999),  which  com- 
bines high-performance 
graphics  and  motion  video 
on  a  single  card. 

On  the  audio  front, 
Yamaha  (714-522-9937) 
announced  its  first  sound 
card,  the  CBX-B1.  It  has 
built-in  General  MIDI  and 
uses  Yamaha's  own  DSP 
to  offer  such  audio  effects 
as  digital  delay,  voice  mor- 
phing,  voice  cancellation 
pitch  change,  and  surround 
sound.  Creative  Labs  (408-428 
6600)   showed    its    new   SCSI 
2-based  Sound  Blaster  16  card 
($329.95  with  the  ASP  chip,  $279.95  with- 
out) and  announced  future  support  for  MPEG 
Logitech  (510-795-8500)  touted  its  new  SoundMan 
Wave  ($349.00),  which  uses  Yamaha's  OPL4  chip  set  for 
high-quality  General  MIDI  wave-table  synthesis. 

Other  sound  cards  at  COMDEX  included  the 
AudioBlitz  Classic  (Genoa,  800-93-GENOA),  a  16-bit 
sound  card  that  sells  for  just  $79,  and  the  Digital  Office 
(Cardinal,  717-293-3114,  $359),  which  combines  full 
audio  and  fax/data  modem  features  on  a  single  card. 

Portable  sound  and  SCSI  cards,  in  the  guise  of  PCM- 
CIA cards,  are  now  available  from  DSP  Solutions  (415- 
494-8086)  and  New  Media  (714-453-0100).  Altec  Lansing 
(814-234-1230)  auditioned  its  new  ACS3  powered  speak- 
ers— with  subwoofer — which  will  sell  for  about  $200. 


Media  Vision  (510-770-8600),  best  known  for  its  sound  and 
video  cards,  has  jumped  into  the  CD-ROM  software  business 
with  both  feet.  The  company  showed  ten  titles,  including  two 
action-adventure  games,  called  Critical  Path  and  Quantum 
Gate  ($79.95  each);  a  children's  fantasy  game,  called  Forever 
Growing  Garden  ($49.95);  a  cross-country  adventure  game 
with  trivia  questions,  called  Peak  Performance  ($59.95);  three 
titles  in  a  new  children's  early  learning  series,  called  Professor 
Gooseberry's  I  Can  Read  Club  ($49.95  each);  and  three  titles 
in  a  CD-ROM-based  daily  planner  series,  called  Personal 
Daily  Planlt  ($59.95  each). 

Access  (800-800-4880)  wowed  the  crowd  with  its 
new  adventure  CD-ROM,  titled  Under  a  Killing 
Moon.  It  looks  terrific  and  is  currently 
scheduled  to  ship  in  March.  General 
Media  Publishing  Group  (800-466- 
9435)  had  them  blocking  the 
aisles  to  see  its  new  interactive 
CD-ROM  games,  called  Vir- 
tual Photo  Shoot  I,  II,  and  III 
($99.95  each).  They're  the 
follow-ups  to  the  compa- 
ny's popular  Penthouse 
Interactive  ($99.95),  now 
available  in  a  Windows 
version.  One  of  the  latest 
titles  from  VTGA  Publish- 
ing Studio,  Karaoke  Mac- 
beth, lets  as  many  as  ten 
players  act  and  record 
their  parts  in  a  production 
of  Shakespeare's  Macbeth. 
Other  interesting  new  CD- 
ROM  titles  at  COMDEX  includ- 
ed Prehistoria  (Grolier  Electronic 
Publishing,  800-285-4534,  price 
not  available).  Total  Distortion  (Pop 
Rocket,  415-731-9112,  $99.00),  Cyber- 
Race  and  Darkseed  (Cyberdreams/Sony 
Electronic  Publishing,  212-702-6273,  $69.95 
each),  and  Library  of  the  Future,  Third  Edition  (World 
Library,  800-443-0238,  $395.00). 

Disk-based  multimedia  software  included  Software 
Audio  Workshop  (Innovative  Quality  Software,  702-733- 
7854,  $599),  which  lets  you  record  four  simultaneous 
stereo  tracks  with  a  standard  Sound  Blaster  16,  and 
Musicware  Piano  (Musicware,  800-997-4266,  $99),  a 
Windows-based  program  that  provides  piano  lessons. 

It's  clear  from  Fall  COMDEX  that  multimedia  is  a  rapid- 
ly increasing  piece  of  the  personal  computer  pie.  Full- 
motion  video,  high-quality  sound,  flashy  new  CD-ROM 
titles,  and  snazzy  multimedia  authoring  tools  promise  to 
liven  up  our  computing  lives  throughout  1994.  J 


MULTIMEDIA  PC 


By  Richard  O.  Mann 


If  there's  one  thing  a  CD- 
ROM-equipped  PC  was 
made  for,  it's  harnessing 
massive  collections  of 
data — placing  facts,  fig- 
ures, images,  and  even  triv- 
ia at  your  fingertips.  With 
the  prodigious  storage 
capacity  of  CD-ROMs,  the 
whole  world  of  reference 
books  opens  up  to  your 
computer  screen. 

Consider  the  benefits  of 
computerizing  a  library  of 
reference  information. 
Compton's  Encyclopedia 
has  26  volumes;  Groiier's 
has  21.  I  can't  even  guess 
how  many  filing  cabinets  it 
would  take  to  hold  street 
maps  for  the  entire  United 
States.  The  printed  Oxford 
English  Dictionary  occupies 
20  good-sized  volumes. 
Library  of  the  Future  holds 
the  contents  of  nearly  1000 
individual  books.  Yet  all  that 
information  takes  the  space 
of  only  five  jewel  boxes, 
which  fit  into  only  two  inch- 
es of  shelf  space. 

Of  course,  even  if  you 
did  have  all  that  information 
in  hardcopy  (and  a  large 
room  to  keep  it  in),  how 
easy  would  it  be  to  find 
specific  items  of  informa- 
tion? Say  you  needed  a 
street  map  of  Sikeston, 
Missouri  (as  I  did  recent- 
ly)— you'd  have  quite  an 
adventure  in  your  filing  cab- 
inets just  trying  to  find  it. 

Another  benefit  isn't  as 
obvious.  What  if  you  wanted 
to  find  the  source  of  a  quo- 
tation but  could  recall  only 
a  few  key  words?  Or  per- 
haps you  wanted  to  find  a 
word  for  which  you  knew 
only  the  definition.  How 
about  finding  the  name  of  a 
movie  when  you  knew  only 
two  of  the  actors?  The 
name  of  a  city  from  a  street 
name,  ZIP  code,  or  phone 
number?  All  this  and  more 

74      COMPUTE    MARCH     1994 


is  possible  using  your  com-  j 
puter's  power  to  search  a  j 
CD-ROM  database.  It's  the  j 
equivalent  of  being  able  to  j 
quickly  scan  an  entire  die-  ; 
tionary,  encyclopedia,  map  ; 
collection,  or  other  refer-  I 
ence,  looking  for  every  ! 
occurrence  of  a  single  word  ; 
or  phrase.  Information  is  j 
accessible  like  never  \ 
before. 

Finally,  many  of  these  j 
titles  have  much  more  than  i 


new  product  or  version 
seems  to  add  new  and 
innovative  multimedia  ele- 
ments; it's  exciting  to  watch 
the  paper-based  references 
come  alive. 

The  only  real  problem 
here  is  that  you  probably 
don't  have  unlimited  funds 
to  buy  every  terrific  CD- 
ROM  reference  title  that 
appears.  We've  sorted 
through  the  hundreds  of 
popular  reference  works  to 


TOP  TEN 


la  Imtnvdiic  Joarme?  tutu  tkr  llorUo/IMmi 


9,       '<* 


j£ 


CD-ROM 
REFERENCE  TITLES 


you'd  get  in  the  printed  ver- 
sions. The  encyclopedias, 
for  instance,  provide  full- 
motion  video  of  historic 
events,  animated  and  nar- 
rated explanations  of  physi- 
cal processes,  and  many 
sound  recordings.  Atlases 
have  photo  collections, 
searchable  databases  of 
statistical  information,  and 
even  video  travelogues  to 
accompany  the  maps.  Each 


pick  ten  titles  that  provide 
the  most  useful  content,  the 
best  delivery,  and  the  most 
value.  You'll  forgive  us,  I 
hope,  for  selecting  three 
encyclopedias.  You'll  prob- 
ably need  only  one,  but  all 
three  are  excellent — cer- 
tainly in  the  ten  top  refer- 
ence titles  available. 

The  order  of  presenta- 
tion here  implies  no  rank- 
ing; all  of  these  are  world- 


class  titles. 

Street  Atlas  USA  2.0. 

This  latest  version  of  Street 
Atlas  USA  (DeLorme 
Mapping,  800-452-5931  or 
207-865-1234,  $169)  brings 
you  street  maps  of  the 
entire  United  States,  down 
to  a  level  where  streets  are 
shown  one-eighth  inch  wide 
and  the  onscreen  map  is 
just  over  one-half  mile 
square.  It's  all  there:  street 
names,  highway  numbers, 
power  lines,  rivers,  parks, 
and  so  forth. 

The  maps  start  with  a  full 
United  States  map  at  a 
magnitude  of  1.  You  work 
up  through  the  levels  of 
detail  to  magnitude  16, 
described  above.  The 
maps  are  correct  and  use- 
ful at  each  level,  so  you  can 
find  one  that'll  meet  your 
needs. 

You  can  also  search  for 
place  names  (down  to 
towns  and  some  features, 
including  shopping  centers 
but  not  parks),  ZIP  codes, 
and  even  phone  numbers 
(down  to  area  code  and 
exchange).  At  magnitudes 
13  through  16,  you  can  also 
search  for  street  names  on 
the  displayed  map  (about 
nine  miles  square  at  magni- 
tude 13) — including  speci- 
fying the  block  by  street 
address. 

Street  Atlas  USA  requires 
Windows  3.1,  puts  2.2MB  of 
data  on  your  hard  drive,  and 
is  extremely  easy  to  use.  It's 
easy  to  see  why  it's  been  a 
steady  bestseller  since  it 
was  introduced.  It's  a  handy, 
versatile  tool  for  finding 
things  all  over  the  country. 

Library  of  the  Future, 
Second  Edition.  This  sec- 
ond edition  of  Library  of  the 
Future  (World  Library,  714- 
748-7197,  $299)  includes 
over  2000  individual  books, 
stories,  plays,  poems,  reli- 


gious  works,  historical  doc- 
uments, and  scientific 
works  that  would  appear  in 
about  950  volumes  if  you 
had  them  in  printed  form. 
They're  primarily  classics  or 
historical  in  nature;  only  a 
small  handful  are  from  the 
last  50  years. 

But  what  a  treasury  of  wis- 
dom, entertainment,  history, 
and  information  this  is!  Here 
you'll  find  Shakespeare, 
Milton,  Whitman,  Chaucer, 
Cervantes,  and  Aristotle. 
You'll  also  find  Jack  London, 
Edgar  Allan  Poe,  Mark  Twain, 
and  Louisa  May  Alcott.  The 
range  is  incredible,  from 
History  of  the  Peloponnesian 
War  to  The  Wizard  of  Oz 

For  scholars,  this  is  a 
dream  come  true.  You  can 
search  for  words  or  phras- 
es, specifying  proximity. 
You  can  perform  custom 
searches  by  categories, 
regions,  countries,  ages, 
eras,  centuries,  or  years.  To 
find  a  quotation  or  discus- 
sions of  certain  people, 
events,  or  ideas,  you  merely 
design  a  search  as  precise- 
ly as  you  wish. 

You  can  also  copy  a 
book  to  a  hard  disk  or  flop- 
py disk  for  later  use  and 
print  excerpts  or  whole 
works.  Though  you  proba- 
bly won't  be  sitting  up 
nights  reading  these  books 
on  your  computer  screen  (I 
certainly  won't),  having 
them  available  to  browse, 
research,  and  work  with  will 
broaden  your  horizons.  And 
wait  till  someone  in  the 
household  needs  to  write 
term  papers — this  is  an 
unmatched  archive  of 
source  material. 

Microsoft  Cinemania 
'94.  The  new  edition  of 
Cinemania  (Microsoft,  800- 
559-5577,  $79.95)  will 
delight  anyone  who's  ever 
seen  and  loved  a  movie.  It's 


basically  a  master  movie 
reference,  but  the  extras 
make  it  an  evening's  enter- 
tainment on  its  own. 

It    lists    over     19,000 
movies,  giving  basic  infor- 
mation on  each,  including 
cast,  length,  director,  rat- 
ing, and  any  awards  it  has 
won.    Each    has   a   brief 
review      from      Leonard  j 
Maltin's  Movie  and  Video  I 
Guide    1994.    Additional  l 
reviews  from  Roger  Ebert's 


nearly  1000  still  photos,  160 
sound  recordings  of  famous 
dialogues,  100  recordings 
of  movie  themes  and 
songs,  and  20  video  clips 
from  the  classics,  and  it's 
an  irresistible  package. 

World  Atlas  4.0.  For 
basic  world  maps  and  an 
extensive  database  of  statis- 
tical and  demographic  infor- 
mation, you  can't  beat  World 
Atlas  4.0  (The  Software 
Toolworks,  415-883-3000, 


BUILD  YOUR  OWN 
PERSONAL  LIBRARY  WITH 


ENCAR 


THESE  OUTSTANDING 
REFERENCE  CD-ROMs. 


Video  Companion  are  avail- 
able for  1300  titles,  and 
Pauline  Kael's  reviews 
appear  for  2500  movies. 

Cinemania  also  features 
biographies  of  4000  movie 
personalities,  each  with  a 
complete  filmography  listing 
every  movie  appearance. 
Fully  half  of  the  biographies 
have  photo  portraits. 

That's  a  tremendous 
amount  of  material,  but  add 


$79.95  for  Windows  and 
$69.95  for  DOS). 

World  Atlas  is  a  well-bal- 
anced source  of  world 
facts.  There  are  better 
sources  of  maps,  as  these 
are  limited  to  high-level 
maps  with  little  detail.  The 
multimedia  elements  and 
extensive  database,  howev- 
er, compensate  for  the  lack 
of  map  detail.  Audio 
includes  pronunciations  of 


place  names,  simple  rendi- 
tions of  national  anthems, 
and  audio  help  screens. 
Video  includes  full-motion 
video  clips  of  47  cities  pre- 
sented in  a  tiny  window. 
Surprisingly,  it's  big  enough 
to  give  you  a  satisfying 
glimpse  of  the  cities 
involved. 

The  statistical  database, 
although  not  perfect,  is  both 
useful  and  interesting.  It 
covers  over  300  data  cate- 
gories, from  the  expected 
(population  and  area)  to  the 
esoteric  (buffalo  milk  pro- 
duction and  counterfeiting 
offenses).  You  can  create 
graphs  and  statistical  maps 
on  data  from  categories 
including  agriculture,  crime, 
people,  economy,  educa- 
tion, geography,  and 
health. 

The  Oxford  English 
Dictionary  (Second  Edi- 
tion) on  Compact  Disc. 
The  OED,  or  The  Oxford 
English  Dictionary,  is  an 
international  linguistic  trea- 
sure, the  fruits  of  the  labor 
of  four  generations  of  lexi- 
cographers. It's  unique.  The 
20  printed  volumes  of 
1989's  second  edition  col- 
lect the  history  of  the 
English  language.  They 
include  not  only  current  def- 
initions but  the  history  of 
each  word,  shown  in  quota- 
tions from  original  writings 
going  well  back  into  the 
Middle  Ages.  All  these  illus- 
trative quotes — over  2.4  mil- 
lion of  them  for  the  nearly 
half-million  words  in  the  dic- 
tionary— help  fill  out  The 
OED's  20,000  pages. 

Its  arrival  on  CD-ROM 
(Oxford  University  Press 
Electronic  Publishing,  800- 
334-4249  or  212-679-7500, 
$895)  is  a  new  triumph, 
albeit  an  expensive  one. 
Not  only  can  you  read  all 
the  entries  in  decent-sized 

MARCH    1994    COMPUTE      75 


MULTIMEDIA  PC 


fonts  (which  you  can 
select),  but  you  can  per- 
form powerful  searches  for 
words  and  phrases,  using 
proximity  parameters  and  a 
variety  of  other  limits.  You 
can  limit  your  search  to  cer- 
tain parts  of  speech,  variant 
forms,  etymology,  and  date 
ranges,  for  example. 
Considerable  effort  has 
gone  into  the  search  engine 
in  The  OED,  resulting  in 
faster-than-expected 
performance. 

If  your  search  target  is 
more  complex,  there's  a 
separate  query  language 
that  will  daunt  all  but  the 
most  adventuresome — yet  it 
delivers  the  goods  for  truly 
intricate  searches. 

The  OED  on  CD-ROM 
requires  Windows  and  puts 
just  under  2MB  of  data  on 
your  hard  disk. 

The  New  Grolier  Multi- 
media Encyclopedia,  Re- 
lease 6.  Each  year,  Grolier 
Electronic  Publishing  (800- 
285-4535  or  203-797-3500) 
adds  new  multimedia  ele- 
ments to  The  New  Grolier 
Multimedia  Encyclopedia 
($395).  This  latest  version 
includes  all  the  usual  ele- 
ments (video  clips,  sound 
recordings,  animations,  and 
SVGA  photos)  along  with 
two  new  items:  multimedia 
maps  and  Knowledge  Ex- 
plorer essays. 

Multimedia  maps  are 
narrated  explanations  of 
history  and  geography  illus- 
trated with  animated  maps, 
The  story  of  the  founding  of 
America,  for  example,  and 
the  country's  acquisition  of 
territory  over  the  years 
becomes  crystal-clear  as 
you  watch  the  maps 
change  to  highlight  events. 

Knowledge  Explorer 
essays  are  narrated  slide 
shows  explaining  general 

76      COMPUTE    MARCH    1994 


!  pte     EdU    Iflw    Bitfii     Window    tjafr 


Topic  Tree 


Aits.Tfie 

Communication 

Earth 

Economics 

Education 

'.'■-'  nctphy 

Government 

Health  i.'id  Meuicnc 

HistoiyancK  initiation 

imt 

Ueratuie 

Lmpq  Things 
Mathematics 
Uatti  ■■,  t  ifrigy 
Phifocophy 


Compton's  Interactive  Encyclopedia  includes  a  handy  Topic  Tree. 


topics  such  as  music,  South 
America,  space  exploration, 
architecture,  and  the 
human  body. 

Yes,  the  multimedia  glitz 
abounds,  but  what  about  an 
encyclopedia's  mission  to 
deliver  concise,  factual 
knowledge  on  as  many 
diverse  topics  as  reason- 
ably possible?  Grolier's 
does  well  on  this  score,  too. 
Its  articles  are  appropriate 
for  middle-school  ages  and 
above,  they're  signed  by 
their  authors,  and  they  pre- 
sent bibliographies  to  lead 
students  to  further  informa- 
tion sources. 

Grolier's  spends  less 
effort  on  graphical  presen- 
tation of  its  information  and 
more  effort  on  squeezing  in 
information.  Its  time  line,  for 
instance,  is  merely  a 
chronological  listing  of 
dates  and  events.  The  com- 
petition presents  beautifully 
rendered  scrolling  time  line 
charts,  which  necessarily 
include  many  fewer  individ- 
ual events. 

Compton's  Interactive 
Encyclopedia.  Compton's 
Interactive  Encyclopedia 
(Compton's  New  Media, 


619-929-2500,  $395)  com- 
bines a  flashy,  easy-to-use 
Windows  interface  with  its 
collection  of  information 
and  multimedia  elements.  It 
includes  the  standard  multi- 
media items,  but  it  uses  the 
graphic  Windows  interface 
much  more  extensively  than 
Grolier's  to  create  a  truly 
graphic  experience  right 
down  to  the  instant  you 
read  the  text. 

Innovations  in  Compton's 
include  the  InfoPilot,  which 
presents  a  matrix  of  articles. 
You  select  a  topic  and  an 
article,  which  appears  in  a 
small  center  window.  Four 
closely  related  articles 
appear  in  boxes  at  the  cor- 
ners of  the  screen.  Around 
each  of  them  are  the  titles  of 
three  related  articles.  The 
entire  web  of  articles  and 
titles  can  help  you  hone  in 
on  elusive  facts. 

Compton's  also  provides 
extra  value.  Until  June  1994, 
buyers  of  the  CD-ROM  ver- 
sion can  purchase  the  print- 
ed encyclopedia  for  a  mere 
$99 — an  outstanding  buy. 
Also,  the  CD-ROM  comes 
with  a  full  working  version  of 
Lotus's  Ami  Pro  3.0,  a  $495 


Windows  word  processor, 
which  links  to  the  encyclo- 
pedia  for  automatic 
footnotes. 

The  Windows  version  of 
Compton's  takes  a  full  4MB 
of  hard  disk  space  and  runs 
a  little  more  slowly  than  its 
competition.  Generally,  the 
articles  are  not  as  extensive 
as  those  in  Grolier's. 

Microsoft  Encarta  Multi- 
media Encyclopedia,  1994 
Edition.  While  based  on 
another  print  encyclopedia 
(the  29  volumes  of  Funk  & 
Wagnalls  New  Encyclo- 
pedia), Encarta  1994  (Micro- 
soft, 800-559-5577,  $395) 
feels  more  like  something 
created  just  for  multimedia. 
Microsoft  expanded  greatly 
upon  the  print  version,  seek- 
ing out  different  photo 
sources,  for  instance,  for 
images  that  would  translate 
better  for  computer  screen 
viewing — with  noticeably 
excellent  results.  You  get 
more  sound,  more  photos, 
and  more  information  than 
from  the  competing  products. 

All  of  the  standard  multi- 
media elements  are  there. 
Encarta  spares  no  effort  to 
present  video,  sound,  ani- 
mation, and  photo  illustra- 
tions whenever  possible.  It 
includes,  for  example,  spo- 
ken samples  of  60  lan- 
guages, 181  national 
anthems,  117  pieces  of 
classical  music,  179  clips  of 
world  and  folk  music,  and 
106  video  clips. 

Most  articles  have  a 
series  of  illustrations — usu- 
ally photos — in  the  left  mar- 
gin that  change  as  you 
scroll  through  the  article's 
text,  The  small  pictures  are 
thumbnails;  you  can 
expand  most  of  them  up  to 
full-screen  size  for  a  better 
view.  Virtually  every  screen, 
box,  window,  and  article 


ore. 


As  Far  and  as 

as  Your  Mind  Will 

Nine  unique  entry  paths  are  available  -  one  to  suit 
every  style  of  learning.  With  Virtual  Workspace™ 
open  multiple  articles,  pictures,  videos, 
sounds  and  animations  to  expand  your 
understanding.  Idea  Search  ^^^^^^^^^™ 

guides  you  through  a  network 
of  over  33,000  articles  such  as... 


Fast 

Travel. 


^ 


On  CD  ROM  for 
Windows™,  DOS 
and  Macintosh®. 


m-hX=T 


ALL    NEW 

19EE3 

EDITION 


v      1 


% 


Access  U.S.  and  world 
history  through  the 
new  multi-level, 
dynamic  timeline. 
Click  the  time  period 

of  your  choice  and  open  related  articles 

and  multimedia  displays. 


To  bring  learning  alive,  there's 
nothing  like  full-motion  video  and 
sound.  People  remember  almost 
^^^^^^^^^     three  times  more 
with  multi-sensory 
stimulation  over 
reading  alone! 
Compton's  fea- 
tures over  200 
multimedia  clips 
including  videos, 
animations, 
sounds,  and 
exclusive  slide 
shows  -  plus  over 
7,000  images. 


Start  with  an  astronaut's  view  of  the  globe.  Click  on  any  region 
and  zoom  in  for  a  closer  look.  Move  from  continents  to  coun- 
tries, to  cities  -  with  each  level  bringing  you  greater  detail. 


It's  a  big  universe.  And  with  Compfon*$ 
Inleroclive  Encyclopedia™,  vou  can  explore  it 
dailv.  With  the  click  of  a  mouse  you  can  expe- 
rience a  space  sluillle  launch  —  in  lull-motion 
video  and  sound.  Click  airain.  and  you  II  dis- 
cover the  history,  leclmolo^v  and  people  who 
made  it  possible.  The  same  easy  access  can 
take  vou  from  science  to  nature,  history,  peo- 
ple and  places.  Compton's  /nfemefire 
IlncY<m loped ia™.  chosen  easiest -to- use.  offers  a 


tlTlj 

mm 


TKS 


ft 


&\ 


world  of  knowledge  through  videos,  anima- 
tions, narrated  slide  presentations,  audio  and 
(juicklv  referenced  text.  Still,  the  most  com- 
pelling reason  for  choosing  (Compton's  is  this: 
Your  children.  You  re  giving  them  a  tool  (hat 
can  increase  their  comprehension.  Stimulate 
Curiosity  and  enhance  motivation. Yes.  and 
Cotnplon*s  is  fun.  too.  And  thai  s  what  learn- 
ing should  he!  Visit  your  local  retailer  or  call 

800-862-2206  for  more  information. 
Circle  Reader  Service  Number  240 


COMPUTE 


,  Compton's 
NewMedia 

2320  Camino  Vida  Roble 

Carlsbad,  CA  92009   (800)  826-2206 

(0  1993  Compton's  NewMedia,  Inc.  All  products  and  company  names  are  the  property  of  their  respective  trademark  holders.  40-1001 5-A 


CHOICE 
AWARDS 


th 


^*fTTIf 


MULTIMEDIA  PC 


has  a  printer  button  to  allow 
easy  printing  of  the  material 
for  later  reference. 

Encarta's  basic  informa- 
tion content  is  extensive, 
accurate,  and  factual.  Add 
extensive  multimedia  con- 
tent and  inspired  presenta- 
tion, and  you  get  something 
more  than  a  traditional 
encyclopedia  translated 
into  CD-ROM.  You  get  a 
new  kind  of  colorful,  vibrant, 
almost-live  reference 
source. 

Microsoft  Dinosaurs.  If 
you're  getting  the  impres- 
sion from  these  reviews  that 
nobody  does  multimedia 
like  Microsoft,  you're  not 
wrong.  Microsoft  Dinosaurs 
(Microsoft,  800-559-5577, 
$79.95)  is  another  example 
of  taking  a  good  concept  to 
the  limit.  I've  seen  a  dozen 
other  dinosaur-related  titles 
on  CD-ROM  this  year;  none 
is  even  in  the  same  league 
with  Microsoft  Dinosaurs. 

Breathtakingly  beautiful 
256-color  paintings  in  virtu- 
ally every  window  in  the 
program  set  the  standard 
for  all  that  follows.  There  are 
five  animated  informational 
movies  licensed  from  PBS, 
as  well  as  striking  footage 
of  a  dinosaur  hunting  in  a 
forest  with  an  appropriate 
sound  track. 

The  heart  of  Microsoft 
Dinosaurs  is  its  200  informa- 
tion panels,  each  with  a 
painting,  text,  and  hot-spot 
captions  leading  to  the  800 
supporting  panels.  There's  a 
lot  of  content  here,  but  it's 
presented  with  engaging 
illustrations  and  in  small 
enough  bites  that  even  kids 
with  short  attention  spans 
won't  lose  interest.  As  you 
explore  by  following  the  relat- 
ed articles,  you'll  never  cover 
the  same  path  twice,  which 
gives  you  the  feeling  that 

78      COMPUTE     MARCH     1994 


Random  House  Unabridged  Dictionary  on  CD-ROM 

Editor's  note:  Just  as  this  issue  was  going  to  press,  we 
received  yet  another  great  reference  CD-ROM.  Rather  than 
bump  one  of  the  other  ten  CD-ROMs,  we  decided  to  offer  this 
one  as  a  bonus  review. 


The  newly  revised  second 
edition  of  The  Random 
House  Unabridged  Dic- 
tionary is  a  2500-page,  13- 
pound,  industrial-strength 
dictionary  for  serious  use — 
as  reflected  by  its  $100 
price  tag.  The  CD-ROM 
version  is  $79,  and  the 
package  with  both  versions 
is  $159  (Random  House 
Reference  and  Electronic 
Publishing,  212-940-7394). 

Both  the  printed  and 
CD-ROM  versions  arise 
from  a  massive  electronic 
database  that  helped  pro- 
duce a  fully  revised  edition 
in  less  than  a  year.  It's  up- 
to-date,  containing  newly 
minted  words  such  as  car- 
jacking, bimbette,  and 
fedex  (as  a  verb),  as  well 
as  entries  fresh  from 
today's  news,  such  as 
Hillary  Rodham  Clinton, 

The  power  of  computer 
access  to  13  pounds  of 
words  is  awesome.  Can't 
remember  the  name  of 
that  flat  pasta  dish  your 
Aunt  Annette  makes  so 


well?  Try  searching  the 
definitions  for  the  word 
pasta.  You'll  get  12  words, 
among  them  lasagna, 
which  you'll  be  interested 
to  learn  is  derived  from  a 
Latin  word  for  chamber 
pot.  If  you  can  think  of  dis- 
tinctive words  that  would 
be  in  a  word's  definition, 
you  can  find  the  word. 

You  can  search  defini- 
tions for  strings,  browse 
through  the  alphabetical 
word  list,  look  up  any  word 
or  phrase  directly,  find 
words  you  can't  quite  spell 
by  using  wildcards  in  the 
lookup,  and  find  ana- 
grams. There  are  no  multi- 
media elements — no  pic- 
tures, no  pronunciations, 
no  sound  or  video— just 
315,000  words  defined. 

If  you  can't  afford  The 
Oxford  English  Dictionary 
or  you  want  access  to  the 
latest  words,  Random 
House  Unabridged  Dic- 
tionary is  clearly  the  dictio- 
nary of  choice  for  CD- 
ROM-enabled  computers. 


there's  unlimited  content. 

The  stars  of  the  show,  in 
my  opinion,  are  the  Guided 
Tours,  presented  by  a  per- 
sonable and  funny  animat- 
ed version  of  "Dinosaur 
Don"  Lessem,  the  founder 
of  the  Dinosaur  Society.  He 
walks  you  through  the  infor- 
mational screens  with 
humorous  yet  informative 
narration. 

Microsoft  Bookshelf, 
1993  Edition.  Microsoft 
Bookshelf  (Microsoft,  800- 
559-5577,  $195)  was  one  of 


the  first  CD-ROM  reference 
titles  to  appear — and  it's 
still  one  of  the  best.  It's  not 
as  sexy  as  Dinosaurs  or 
Encarta,  but  it  packs  a  lot  of 
highly  valuable  information 
into  a  single  easy-to-access 
package.  Over  the  years, 
I've  found  myself  going 
back  to  it  again  and  again. 

Bookshelf  contains  seven 
basic  reference  books.  The 
American  Heritage  Diction- 
ary is  a  competent  desktop 
dictionary  in  CD-ROM  form. 
It  includes  hundreds  of  illus- 


trations, and  the  words  are 
pronounced  for  you.  You 
can't  search  by  definition  as 
you  can  with  the  other  dictio- 
nary CD-ROMs,  but  you  can 
use  the  find  program  for  the 
entire  Bookshelf  to  search  for 
routine  strings  in  any  or  all  of 
the  books.  Roget's  II  Elec- 
tronic Thesaurus  accompa- 
nies the  dictionary. 

Bartlett's  Familiar  Quota- 
tions is  the  standard  quota- 
tion book.  Its  entries,  howev- 
er, tend  to  be  older,  leading 
to  the  need  for  The  Concise 
Columbia  Dictionary  of 
Quotations,  which  contains 
more  up-to-date  quotes, 
most  of  which  are  from  living 
people.  In  Bookshelf,  both  of 
these  include  the  original 
recordings  of  many  of  the 
quotations.  The  John  F. 
Kennedy  sound  clips  are 
particularly  impressive. 

The  Concise  Columbia 
Encyclopedia  is  a  single 
volume  that  tries  to  impart 
basic  information  on  thou- 
sands of  important  sub- 
jects. Its  coverage  is  neces- 
sarily abbreviated,  but 
there's  a  surprising  amount 
of  useful  information  in  it, 
including  animations  ex- 
plaining how  things  work. 

The  Hammond  Atlas  is  a 
collection  of  maps  with  pro- 
nunciations, flags,  anthems, 
and  links  to  more  complete 
data  in  the  encyclopedia 
and  almanac.  The  World 
Almanac  contains  that  won- 
derful eclectic  collection  of 
odd  and  useful  facts  that 
almanacs  have. 

Microsoft  Bookshelf  is  an 
unexciting  set  of  routine  ref- 
erence books  that  just  hap- 
pens to  be  almost  indis- 
pensable. It  doesn't  need  a 
heavy  load  of  multimedia 
elements;  they'd  just  get  in 
the  way  of  the  raw  informa- 
tion that  you  need  so  often. 0 


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playing,  singing  and  learning  that  computers  can  be  fun.  Oh!  By  the  way,  Mom  and  Dad, 
when  you  play  with  Tuneland  by  yourself,  Iff  Howie  promises  not  to  tell! 
See  your  nearest  software  dealer  today! 


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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  1 52 


IEW  MULTIMEDIA  PRODUCTS 


EDITED  BY  POLLY  CILLPAM 


The  Three  R's 

Davidson's  best-selling 
educational  programs,  Kid 
Works  2  and  Math  Blaster: 
In  Search  of  Spot,  are  now 
available  in  CD-ROM  ver- 
sions. Math  Blaster:  In 
Search  of  Spot  is  a  learning 
adventure  game  that  teach- 
es basic  math  facts,  prob- 
lem solving,  and  mental 
math  skills  to  children  ages 
6  to  12.  Through  four  inte- 
grated activities,  you  help 
Blasternaut  rescue  Spot, 
who  has  been  captured  by 
Blasternaut's  enemy,  the 
Trash  Alien.  The  program 
features  50,000  possible 
math  problems,  the  ability 
to  customize  math  data,  six 
levels  of  play,  and  eight  dif- 
ferent subjects. 


Davidson's  Kid  Works  2 

Kid  Works  2  is  a  creativi- 
ty kit  that  allows  children 
ages  4  to  12  to  write,  illus- 
trate, print,  and  hear  the 
stories  they  create.  It  con- 
tains a  word  processor,  a 
full-featured  paint  program, 
and  patented  text-to- 
speech  technologies. 
Children  can  write  stories 
with  words  or  icons  on  pri- 
mary-ruled paper  or  a  blank 
screen,  color  coloring-book 
pictures,  or  create  their  own 
paintings.  They  can  com- 
bine the  stories  and  pic- 
tures and  have  their  stories 
read  back  to  them. 

Davidson 
(310)793-0600 
$59.95  each 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  530 

80      COMPUTE    MARCH   1994 


Math  Blaster:  in  Search  of  Spot  is  now  avaifabfe  on  CD-ROM. 


Become  a  Member  of 
Congress 

Rise  through  the  political 
ranks  from  freshman  to 
Speaker  of  the  House  with 
Software  Toolworks'  Capitol 
Hill.  This  product  gives  you 
the  opportunity  to  be  active- 
ly involved  in  the  political 
process,  with  a  first-person 
perspective  of  life  on  the 
Hill. 

You  can  explore  the 
inner  workings  of  the 
nation's  highest  lawmaking 
body  by  voting  on  a  bill  or 
reviewing  an  operating  bud- 
get. Capitol  Hill  uses  narrat- 
ed video  clips,  photographs, 
and  illustrations  to  explore 
aspects  of  the  United  States 
legislature,  such  as  the  his- 
tory and  purpose  of 
Congress,  how  a  bill 
becomes  law,  operating 
budgets  and  average 
expenditures,  and  duties  of 
the  Congressional  support 
staff.  You  can  meet  your 
political  peers  and  engage 
in  a  walking  tour  of  the 
Capitol.  All  of  these  experi- 
ences are  available  in  the 
Play  the  Game  section, 
where  the  objective  is  to  rise 
from  a  freshman  Congres- 
sional member  and  become 
Speaker  of  the  House  or 
Senate  Majority  Leader. 


The  Software  Toolworks 

(415)883-3000 

$49.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  531 

I  Spy 

Here's  a  multimedia  educa- 
tional program  that  can 
bring  Europe  alive  cultural- 
ly, geographically,  and  his- 
torically. Developed  for 
ages  10  to  16,  Code: 
Europe  features  digitized 
voice,  music,  and  graphics, 
and  an  instructional  design 


Compu-Teach  's  Code:  Europe 

that  supports  correlation 
and  memory  skills. 

In  the  program,  you're  a 
disguised  International 
Security  Council  agent  who 


travels  throughout  Europe 
gathering  "secret  code" 
clues  from  a  network  of  fel- 
low agents  posing  as  tour 
guides.  The  clues,  which 
include  facts  about  each 
nation's  geography,  history, 
art,  trade,  and  culture,  are 
based  on  research  of  22 
European  countries.  The 
program  also  offers  maps, 
national  anthems,  and 
greetings  in  each  country's 
language. 

You're  required  to  man- 
age the  time  and  currency 
allowed  by  the  ISC  for  each 
investigation.  A  limited  bud- 
get is  provided  for  purchas- 
ing transportation  and  hotel 
accommodations  in  the  cur- 
rency of  the  nation  being 
visited.  You  may  choose  to 
travel  by  foot,  bus,  or  taxi, 
and  to  stay  in  the  least  or 
most  expensive  hotel. 
Experiences  take  place 
based  on  your  choices  in 
these  areas. 

Compu-Teach 
(800)  44-TEACH 
$59.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  532 

Media  Vision  Does 
Software 

Just  six  months  after  it 
formed  a  publishing  group, 
Media  Vision  has  an- 
nounced ten  new  multime- 
dia CD-ROM  titles.  The 
titles  fall  into  three  cate- 
gories: children's  educa- 
tional programs,  interactive 
motion  pictures,  and  daily 
planning  software. 

The  children's  titles  are 
Forever  Growing  Garden,  a 
fantasy  gardening  adven- 
ture with  over  300  screens 
of  animation;  Peak  Perfor- 
mance, an  adventure  with 
trivia  questions,  video 
footage,  and  a  road  race 
across  the  United  States; 


CCEPTED 

Very 

WHERE 


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PCIVICIA     MODEM. 


UkU 


hoever  said  travel  is  fun  never  flew  around  the  world  on  business. 
But  taking  the  WorldPort™  PCMCIA  fax/data  modem  with  you  can  make  it 
easier.  Compatible  with  all  international  standards,  the  WorldPort  is  wafer-thin 
and  ports  easily  to  all  laptop  brands.  Unique  features  include  Quick  Connect, 
HST  Cellular,  Class  2  fax,  and  Link  Security.  There  are  no  extra  cords  or 
adaptors  to  cany,  and  it's  rugged,  so  you  can  rely  on  it  to  last.  WorldPort 
PCMCIA  delivers  the  reliability,  compatibility,  and  ease  of 
use  you  would  expect  from  a  U.S.  Robotics  product. 
And  that  can  mean  the  difference  between 
making  contact  or  missing  out. 
For  more  information  on  PCMCIA  14,400, 
call  toll-free:  1-800-DIAL-USR 

WORtDPORf 

The  Standard  in  PCMCIA  Communications 

U.S.  Robotics,  Inc.,  8100  N.  McCormick  Blvd.,  Skokie,  IL  60076  (708)  982-5010 

U.S.  Robotics  and  the  USRobotics  logo  arc  registered  trademarks  ot  U.S.  Robotics,  Inc. 
brand  or  product  names  are  trademarks  or  registered  trademarks  of  their  respective  companies. 


NEW  MULTIMEDIA  PRODUCTS 


The  Personal  Daily  Planit  CD-ROMs  feature  voice  annotation. 


and  Professor  Gooseberry's 
I  Can  Read  Club,  a  series 
of  early  learning  CD-ROMs, 
including  Always  Arthur, 
Who  Wants  Arthur?,  and 
Buster's  First  Thunderstorm. 

The  two  interactive  multi- 
media movies  are  Quantum 
Gate,  an  interactive  sci- 
ence-fiction story  that  uses 
the  VirtualCinema  technolo- 
gy, and  Critical  Path,  an 
interactive  action  adventure 
which  combines  motion  pic- 
ture, videogame,  and  com- 
puter-generated animation 
elements  in  a  single  inter- 
face. 

The  Personal  Daily  Planit 
series  includes  a  daily  plan- 
ner with  voice  recognition, 
voice  annotation,  over  430 
color  photographs,  video 
footage,  and  stereo  sound. 
The  first  three  titles  are 
Planit  Earth,  featuring 
images  by  renowned 
wildlife  photographers  in 
conjunction  with  the 
National  Wildlife  Federation; 
Planit  Paradise,  an  enticing 
collection  of  today's  hottest 
swimsuit  styles  with  models 
from  Swimwear  Illustrated; 
and  Planit  Adrenaline,  fea- 
turing a  variety  of  action 
sports  scenes. 

82      COMPUTE     MARCH   1994 


"The  breadth  and  chal- 
lenging scope  of  these  initial 
titles  will  demonstrate  that 
Media  Vision  has  dedicated 
itself  to  becoming  both  a 
commercial  force  and  a 
touchstone  of  artistic  quality 
in  the  hardware  and  now 
software  arenas  of  interac- 
tive multimedia  computing," 
says  Paul  Jain,  Media  Vision 
president  and  CEO. 

MediaVision 
(800)348-7116 
$49.95-$59.95  each 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  533 

What  a  Trip! 

Now  you  can  have  a  CD- 
ROM  with  comprehensive 
travel  information  covering 
every  state  and  region  in 
America.  Deep  River 
Publishing's  EVERYWHERE 
USA  Travel  Guide  contains 
a  collection  of  more  than 
3000  events,  attractions, 
festivals,  theaters,  muse- 
ums, historic  sites,  national 
parks,  professional  sports 
teams,  and  more.  It  has 
thousands  of  full-color  pho- 
tos illustrating  attractions  all 
over  the  United  States. 
You'll  find  up-to-date 
descriptions,  addresses, 


phone  numbers,  and  hours, 
as  well  as  a  locator  map. 

"Our  goal  is  to  provide 
the  USA's  most  compre- 
hensive presentation  of 
interesting  attractions  and 
things  to  do  at  a  price 
everyone  can  afford,"  says 
John  Lincoln,  Deep  River's 
CEO.  Through  its  easy- 
access  Windows  interface, 
this  travel  guide  brings 
thousands  of  interesting 
bits  of  information  to  the 
screen  in  seconds.  Family 
vacation  planners  can 
search  for  activities  suitable 
for  their  children,  and  busi- 
ness travelers  can  get  infor- 
mation about  the  city  or 
state  they're  going  to.  You 
can  use  the  menu  of  listings 
based  on  geographical 
area  and  type  of  activity,  or 
you  can  create  a  custom 
search  based  on  a  variety 
of  criteria. 

The  listed  items  include 
aquariums,  zoos,  theme 
parks,  museums,  science 
centers,  agricultural  fairs, 
festivals,  historic  sites, 
national  parks,  dance, 
music,  theater,  sports  tours, 
cultural  centers,  and  more. 


Deep  River  Publishing 

(207)871-1684 

$49.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  534 

Early  Reader  ABC's 

Here's  a  learning  tool  for 
children  ages  4  to  7.  The 
Big  Bug  Alphabet  Book 
interactive  CD-ROM  is  the 
first  in  a  series  from 
Mill iken  Publishing.  The 
program  introduces  the 
alphabet  by  teaching  chil- 
dren to  identify  and  distin- 
guish the  letters.  The  char- 
acters are  brought  to  life 
through  animation,  learning 
games,  high-quality 
speech  and  sound  effects, 
and  original  songs,  creat- 
ing a  fun-filled,  interactive 
experience  for  kids. 

Included  with  the  disc  is 
a  copy  of  the  original  full- 
color  storybook,  so  children 
can  continue  to  learn  and 
enjoy  the  characters  and 
story  when  they're  not  at  the 
computer. 

Milliken  Publishing 

(314)991-4220 

$39.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  535 


g]  Name  the  letters  these  big  bug 
clowns  are  making, 


The  Big  Bug  Alphabet  Book  from  Milliken  Publishing 


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SPOTLIGHT 


By  Carol  Ellison 


THE  VAMPIRE'S  COFFIN, 
THE  LAST  DINOSAUR  EGG, 
THE  HYPNOTIC  HARP 

The  titles  on  the  boxes  of 
Sanctuary  Woods'  kids' 
game  series,  The  Awesome 
Adventures  of  Victor  Vector 
&  Yondo,  say  a  lot  about 
them  even  if  you  don't  look 
at  the  age  rating.  The  expe- 
riences inside  are  uniquely 
designed  for  the  eight-and- 
over  set,  which  seems  to 
invoke  the  word  awesome 
with — well — awesome  regu- 
larity. The  larger-than-life 
quality  of  these  animated 
escapades  also  appeals  to 
those  of  us  who  grew  up 
defining  life  with  words 
such  as  neat. 

The  three  Victor  Vector 
CD-ROMs— The  Vampire's 
Coffin,  The  Last  Dinosaur 
Egg,  and  The  Hypnotic 
Harp — are  part  of  what 
Sanctuary  Woods  calls  its  I- 
Ventures,  in  which  the  / 
stands  for  interactive.  They 
pack  the  fun  and  high 
adventure  of  a  Saturday 
matinee  serial.  Each  game 
is  framed  within  a  screen  to 
add  to  the  sense  of  video 
excitement.  Kids  click  on 
the  onscreen  knobs  and 
directional  controls  to  move 
through  the  game.  Not  only 
do  the  comics-style  graph- 
ics beat  those  you'll  find  on 
any  newsprint  page,  but 
they  top  those  of  most  com- 
puter games. 

There's  no  titillating  vio- 
lence here.  That  should 
appeal  to  Janet  Reno  and 
the  growing  number  of  par- 
ents who  are  concerned 
about  the  knock-'em-sock- 
'em  quality  of  TV  and 
videogames.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  don't  exactly 
lack  scary  moments.  Each 
appeals  to  a  child's  sense 
of  adventure  and  mystery 
with  elements  such  as  vam- 

84       COMPUTE    MARCH   1994 


pires,  dinosaurs,  secret 
codes,  and  gladiators. 

Kids  join  the  action  as 
museum  archivists  who 
control  the  adventures  of 
"the  valiant  Victor  Vector 
and  his  Digital  Dog  Yondo." 
Our  heroes  are  introduced 
just  that  way  by  a  voice  that 
possesses  all  the  anticipa- 
tory inflection  of  a  Walter 
Winchell  or  Robin  Leach. 
It's  just  another  of  the 
games'  matinee  motifs. 
Voice-overs  and  musical 
scores,  produced  especial- 
ly for  the  games,  feature  the 


est,  athletic,  and  enthusias- 
tic." And  Yondo,  his  Saint 
Bernard,  upholds  the  tradi- 
tion of  Lassie,  Rin  Tin  Tin, 
and  countless  other  heroic 
dogs  who  have  graced  the 
screen  with  their  strength, 
wisdom,  and  loyalty. 

The  games  pit  Victor  and 
Yondo  against  archvillain 
Ram  Axis,  a  virus  spawned 
in  the  great  crash  of  2093, 
who  often  goes  undetected 
by  changing  forms  to  foil 
their  efforts.  Players  explore 
a  virtual  environment,  click- 
ing on  images  to  talk  to 


Victor  Vector  and  Yondo  star  in  three  CD-ROM  games  for  kids. 


melodramatic  verbiage, 
hypertensive  inflection,  and 
cliff-hanger  action  of 
Captain  Marvel,  Superman, 
and  the  other  futuristic  fan- 
tasies of  an  earlier  genera- 
tion. 

In  each  Victor  Vector 
game,  players  travel 
through  time  with  Victor  and 
Yondo  to  recover  items  for 
the  museum  and  prevent 
those  items  from  falling  into 
the  wrong  hands.  Victor  is  a 
"digital  agent"  who  looks  for 
all  the  world  like  Christopher 
Reeve.  He  is,  as  the  games 
describe  him,  "brave,  non- 


people,  gather  treasure, 
collect  props  that  boost  or 
diminish  their  energy  level 
and  help  them  past  hurdles 
later  in  the  game,  or  retrieve 
information  from  Yondo's 
data  bank  collar. 

Yondo's  collar  is  one  of 
the  educational  elements 
that  kids  must  return  to  again 
and  again  to  meet  the 
games'  challenges.  Kids 
must  review  and  use  the 
information  in  the  data  bank 
to  correctly  answer  ques- 
tions, solve  puzzles,  and 
progress  through  the  games. 
Sanctuary  Woods  integrates 


fact  with  fantasy  in  a  way 
that  makes  the  games  seem 
anything  but  bookish.  The 
Last  Dinosaur  Egg  and  The 
Hypnotic  Harp  present  factu- 
al information  on  the  history, 
science,  and  culture  of  pre- 
historic times  and  of  Rome. 
The  Vampire's  Coffin  is 
replete  with  information 
about  central  Europe  in  the 
late  eighteenth  century. 

Like  all  good  computer- 
based  adventures,  these 
games  are  complex.  They 
feature  80  to  150  interactive 
screens  that  involve  a  fair 
amount  of  trial  and  error  as 
kids  try  out  the  different 
options — only  to  end  up  in  a 
Transylvanian  jail  or  find 
themselves  sliding  into 
molten  lava  from  a  prehis- 
toric volcano. 

And  the  fun  doesn't  stop 
when  the  game's  over.  Just 
as  their  parents  could  earn 
premiums  and  surprises  by 
sending  in  box  tops  and 
proofs  of  purchase  to  their 
favorite  TV  heroes,  young 
fans  of  Victor  and  Yondo 
can  join  Sanctuary  Woods' 
Fun  Club  by  simply  register- 
ing their  games.  Members 
receive  things  like  stickers, 
game  clues,  and  previews 
of  new  games.  It's  a  little 
like  the  code  rings  we  could 
earn  by  mailing  in  Ovaltine 
labels. 

It's  this  nod  to  nostalgia 
and  the  rich  traditions  of 
larger-than-life  fantasy 
heroes  and  canine  side- 
kicks that  gives  these  pro- 
grams a  special  charm.  No 
doubt  about  it,  the  kids  will 
soon  be  complaining  that 
they  can't  get  the  keyboard 
away  from  Mom  and  Dad. 

Sanctuary  Woods  Multimedia 

(415)578-6340 

$39.95  each 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  550 


TTEKHAM  <OUR 


'4HTSBRID6E 


Join  super  sleutb  Jon 
Daring  as  be  races  through 
the  streets  of  £ondon  in  his 
fight  against  euU!  Using  the 
most  sophisticated  trideo 
animation,  graphics  and 
digital  sound  available, 
CLt.Y-  2000  brings  you 
the  ultimate  challenge  of 
intellect  and  skill  in  the 
CD-ROCD  PC 
adventure  of  a 
lifetime. 


Piccadilly  •  Kinc'i  <roh  •  WBTMiNtTFr 

©  1993  flditus  Inc.  CI.I-V.  2000     ((/* 
City  In  Trouble  Year  2000  is  proprietory  to  Adilus  li 

All  enquiries  to  Aditus  Inc.  5756  Royalmount  Avenue, 

Montreal,  Quebec,  Canada  H4P  IKS 

Tel:  514-737-8547 

Circle  Read&r  Service  Number  1M 


#i 


PRODUCTIVITY  CHOICE 


This  Pentium-based  machine 

sizzles  with  speed  and  power  without 

costing  a  fortune. 

Denny  Atkin  and  Mike  Hudnall 


ALR  EVOLUTION 

V/60 

The  latest  and  greatest  in  blaz- 
ing speed,  remarkable  de- 
sign, and  raw  power,  today's 
Pentium  machines  trigger  the 
same  feelings  of  excitement 
and  anticipation  that  you 
might  experience  examining 
the  latest  Ferrari  or  Lamborgh- 
ini. Who  wouldn't  want  to 
take  one  of  these  muscle  ma- 
chines for  a  test  drive — to  rev 
it  up,  feel  the  power,  and 
show  off  just  a  little? 

ALR  puts  you  in  the  driver's 
seat  with  its  Evolution  V/60 
PC,  a  well-designed  Pentium- 
based  machine — and  a  siz- 
zling performer — at  quite  a 
competitive  price. 

Although  the  Evolution  V 
sports  a  60-MHz  chip,  it  signif- 
icantly outperforms  66-MHz 
80486DX2  machines,  thanks 
in  part  to  the  marvels  of  the 
Pentium  processor.  While  the 
486  chip  has  1.2  million  tran- 
sistors, the  Pentium  chip  con- 
tains 3.1  million.  Compared  to 
the  486's  54  MIPS  (Million 
Instructions  Per  Second),  the 
60-MHz  Pentium  is  capable 
of  around  100  MIPS.  The  486 
has  one  8K  built-in  cache;  the 
Pentium  has  two.  And  where- 
as the  486  uses  a  32-bit  data 
path,  the  Pentium  uses  a  64- 
bit  path,  so  it  grabs  twice  the 
information  at  a  time. 

With  a  processor  this  fast, 
the  speed  of  other  parts  of 
your  system  necessarily  be- 
comes a  critical  factor.  Even 
though  the  Pentium  chip  has 
two  built-in  8K  caches,  one 
for  data  and  one  for  program 
code,  you'll  still  need  a  good 
external  cache  to  fully  opti- 
mize the  overall  performance 
of  your  system.  ALR  delivers 
with  an  integrated  256K 
(15ns)  read/write-back 


cache,  which  is  noticeably  fast- 
er than  the  486's  write- 
through  cache. 

If  you  need  this  much  com- 
puting power,  you'll  probably 
also  need  plenty  of  expansion 
and  upgrade  capabilities. 
The  Evolution  V  has  them.  It 
comes  standard  with  8MB 
RAM,  expandable  to  up  to 
128MB  on  the  system  board 
(our  review  unit  arrived  with 
16MB).  There  are  two  half- 
height  5%-inch  bays,  which 
you  could  use  to  install  a  CD- 
ROM  drive  and  a  tape  back- 
up or  SWinch  floppy  drive, 
and  four  31/2-inch  bays,  one 
of  them  containing  the  stan- 
dard 1.44MB  floppy  drive. 
You  also  get  the  ALR  MUL- 
TUS  IDE  controller,  which  is  in- 
tegrated into  the  system 
board  and  supports  up  to 
four  IDE  hard  drives. 

The  system  also  contains 
six  16-bit  ISA  slots,  three  of 
which  have  32-bit  VESA  VL- 
Bus  extensions.  While  it's 
true  that  Intel's  new  PCI  local- 
bus  architecture  offers  perform- 
ance advantages  over  VESA 


local  bus  in  Pentium  systems, 
there  are  many  more  VESA 
VL-Bus  cards  available,  so 
the  Evolution's  VESA  local- 
bus  configuration  will  make 
sense  for  a  number  of  consum- 
ers. ALR  also  offers  a  PCI  ver- 
sion of  its  Pentium  system, 
called  the  Evolution  V  ST. 

Using  ALR's  PrimeLine  Di- 
rect 800-number  telephone 
service,  you  can  custom  con- 
figure the  Evolution  V  to  meet 
your  specific  needs.  If  you 
opt  for  the  lowest-priced  con- 
figuration— without  monitor,  vid- 
eo card,  hard  drive,  DOS,  or 
Windows— you  could  pay  as  lit- 
tle as  $2,495.  Prices  in  the  in- 
dustry can  be  volatile,  and 
companies  like  ALR  might 
change  a  drive,  video  card, 
or  other  component  option  to 
offer  greater  performance  or 
value.  Check  with  ALR  before 
deciding  on  a  final  configura- 
tion to  make  sure  you  under- 
stand all  of  the  options  and  to 
get  the  most  current  prices. 

Our  review  system  came 
configured  with  DOS  and  Win- 
dows. A  number  of  new  Pen- 


86        COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


tium  systems  come  with  Win- 
dows NT,  but  DOS  and  Win- 
■  dows  will  come  closer  to  meet- 
ing the  needs  of  the  typical 
COMPUTE  reader.  Our  sys- 
tem came  with  a  240MB 
drive  and  a  Paradise  Acceler- 
ator VL  Plus  (WD90C33)  with 
1MB  of  DRAM.  The  Paradise 
card  supports  1280  x  1024 
with  16  colors,  1024  x  768 
with  256  colors,  800  x  600 
with  64K  colors,  and  640  x 
480  with  16.7  million  colors. 
Adding  a  second  megabyte 
gives  you  more  colors  in  the 
higher  resolutions.  Our  sys- 
tem also  came  with  a 
FlexVIEW  3X  Nl  14-inch 
SVGA  multiscan  noninter- 
laced monitor,  which  sup- 
ports resolutions  up  to  1024 
x  768  noninterlaced.  ALR  al- 
so offers  the  FlexVIEW  4X  Nl, 
a  17-inch  multiscan  noninter- 
laced SVGA  monitor. 

The  Evolution  V's  system 
box  boasts  visual  appeal  as 
well  as  commendable  design. 
A  smoked  plastic  cover 
shields  the  system's  external 
drive  bays  as  well  as  the  re- 
set button.  If  you  remove  two 
screws  and  lift  off  the  U- 
shaped  section  of  the  box 
that  covers  the  top  and 
sides,  you  have  fairly  easy  ac- 
cess to  the  system  board,  mak- 
ing it  a  cinch  to  add  drives  or 
memory.  The  hard  drive  re- 
sides toward  the  rear,  so  the 
two  5  Winch  exposed  bays 
on  the  front  are  available  for 
such  expansion.  We  found  on- 
ly two  disadvantages  to  this 
design:  To  install  drives  in  the 
5  Winch  bays,  you  must  tem- 
porarily remove  the  vertically 
mounted  1.44MB  floppy  drive 
beside  them,  and  once 
you've  installed  a  drive  in  one 
of  the  51/4-inch  bays,  access 
to  the  SIMM  slots  below  is 
blocked.  The  Pentium  has  a 
large  heat  sink. 


Our  testing  of  various  DOS 
and  16-bit  Windows  applica- 
tions showed  that  the  Evolu- 
tion V  was  roughly  80  percent 
faster  than  an  80486DX2/66 
at  computation -in  tensive 
tasks.  But  we  thought  it 
would  be  even  more  meaning- 
ful to  run  some  specific  appli- 
cations to  see  what  kind  of  per- 
formance gains  are  possible. 
Imagine  2.9,  a  3-D  rendering 
package  that  makes  heavy 
use  of  floating-point  math,  ren- 
dered a  series  of  test  images 
in  just  over  half  the  time  a 
486DX2/66  took.  Running  a  se- 
ries of  test  suites  on  Excel 
and  Word  showed  far  less  im- 
provement— just  under  30  per- 
cent as  compared  to  the 
486DX2/66.  Both  of  these 
benchmarks  made  heavy  use 
of  screen  and  disk  resources, 
though,  which  shows  what 
sort  of  influence  high-perform- 
ance disk  subsystems  and  vid- 
eo cards  have  on  a  PC's 
performance. 

Although  these  test  results 
might  not  be  as  impressive  as 
you'd  expect,  the  tests  were 
conducted  using  standard  16- 
bit  DOS  and  Windows  soft- 
ware. To  truly  push  the  Penti- 
um envelope,  you'll  need  32- 
bit  applications  compiled  to 
take  advantage  of  the  chip's 
dual-pipeline  architecture; 
these  pipelines  essentially  al- 
low the  the  chip  to  do  two 
things  at  once,  speeding  exe- 
cution significantly.  With  Pen- 
tium-optimized software,  you 
can  look  forward  to  a  tripling 
of  execution  speed  in  normal 
programs  and  a  five-fold 
speed-up  in  floating-point 
math. 

Another  ALR  selling  point 
is  the  company's  support. 
ALR  warrants  for  five  years 
the  chassis,  keyboard,  CPU, 
system  board,  and  power  sup- 
ply. Associated  labor  costs 


and  some  peripheral  compo- 
nents carry  a  15-month  warran- 
ty. Optional  on-site  ProCare 
service  is  also  available  for  a 
reasonable  fee. 

Should  you  run  out  right 
away  and  buy  one  of  these 
Pentium  systems?  That  de- 
pends, of  course,  on  the  appli- 
cations you  use.  If  you  spend 
a  lot  of  time  doing  computa- 
tion-intensive work,  such  as  3- 
D  rendering,  image  process- 
ing, CAD,   or  working   with 


Base  configuration 
without  operating 
system,  hard  drive, 
video  adapter,  and 
monitor— S2T495; 
review 

configuration  with 
DOS,  Windows  3.1, 
240MB  hard  drive, 
16MB  RAW, 
Paradise 
Accelerator  VL 


huge  spreadsheets,  the  near- 
doubling  in  computation 
speed  will  likely  make  the  Pen- 
tium upgrade  worthwhile.  But 
if  you  spend  most  of  your 
time  doing  word  processing, 
desktop  publishing,  or  disk- 
intensive  database  work,  you 
won't  see  as  dramatic  a 
speed-up  if  you  already  have 
a  fast  DX2  system. 

If  you're  looking  to  make  a 
jump  from  a  slower  system, 
though,  a  Pentium  system 
like  the  ALR  Evolution  V/60 
isn't  dramatically  more  expen- 
sive than  a  comparably 
equipped  80486DX2/66— 
and  it's  likely  to  run  state-of- 
the-art  software  with  more 
than  acceptable  performance 
for  a  long  time  to  come,      n 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  391 


Plus  with  1MB  of 
ORAM,  and 
FlexVIEW  3X  Nl 
monitor— $3,815; 
to  custom 
configure  a 
system,  call  ALR's 
Printline  Direct 
using  the  number 
below 

ALR 

9401  Jeronimo 
Irvine,  GA  92718 
(BOO)  444-4ALR 


MARCH  1994     COMPUTE         87 


ARTWORKS 


Robert  Bixby 


Neatest  thing  of 

the  month: 

ComputerEyes/LPT 

Parallel  Port 

Color  Video  Frame 

Grabber 


DTP  TROUBLES 

I  was  a  man  with  a  problem.  I 
was  designing  a  book  cover 
for  a  book  of  poems  in  Cajun 
French.  The  author  had  an  il- 
lustrator-friend supply  me 
with  a  graphic,  which  I 
scanned  at  300  dpi  and  import- 
ed into  CorelDRAW!.  Every- 
thing was  going  great  until  I 
started  to  put  the  title  on  the 
cover.  Can  you  believe  that 
out  of  the  hundreds  of  fonts 
available  to  me,  I  didn't  have 
anything  close  enough  to 
GeoWorks'  Shattuck  Avenue 
(which  was  used  for  the  main 
heads  and  the  title  page  of  the 
book)  to  use  on  the  cover? 

I  checked  each  font  method- 
ically from  Arial  to  Zapf  Chan- 
cery. Then  I  realized  I  had  an 
ace  in  the  hole.  Using  Geo- 
Write,  I  laser-printed  the  title 
and  author's  name  as  large  as 
I  could  in  Shattuck  Avenue; 
then  I  scanned  the  text  at  300 
dpi  and  imported  the  text  as 
art  into  CorelDRAW!.  It  was  sim- 
ple once  I  thought  of  it,  but  it 
took  a  few  minutes  of  sweating 
to  come  up  with  it.  I  also  con- 
sidered converting  Shattuck  Av- 
enue to  a  TrueType  font  using 
AIIType  from  Atech.  Can  you 
think  of  other  solutions?  If  so, 
drop  me  a  line. 

Under  the  heading  of  cool 
stuff:  Who  says  your  Windows 
world  has  to  be  all  work?  Doo- 
dle-mation  serves  the  same 
purpose  as  a  flowering  crape 
myrtle— it  just  sits  there 
and  looks  beautiful. 
This  program,  from 
Screen  Magic  (820  Flori- 
da Street,  San  Francisco, 
California  94110;  415-648- 
8056),  lets  you  draw  shapes 
on  your  computer  screen 
and  then  animate  them,  caus- 
ing them  to  rotate,  grow  and 
shrink,  follow  specific  paths  on 
the  screen,  and  cycle  colors. 
You  can  use  the  program  to 
draw  one-of-a-kind  wallpaper 
and  screen  blankers  or  just 
groove  on  the  shapes  and  col- 


ors. Wish  list  for  the  next  ver- 
sion: text  and  multiple 
shapes.  You  can  have  multi- 
ple objects  on  the  screen,  but 
they  all  have  to  be  the  same 
shape — all  stars,  all  squares, 
all  circles,  and  so  forth — 
though  you  can  distort  the 
shapes  almost  endlessly. 

The  neatest  thing  of  the 
month:  For  the  minuscule 
price  of  $399.95  (relatively  min- 
uscule, anyway),  you  can  add 
still-image  capture  to  any  PC 
with  a  parallel  port.  Digital 
Vision,  one  of  my  favorite  com- 


panies, has  come  up  with  a  wal- 
let-sized external  image-cap- 
ture card  called  Computer- 
Eyes/LPT  Parallel  Port  Color 
Video  Frame  Grabber.  It  plugs 
into  your  video  camera  and 
your  computer's  parallel  port 
for  24-bit  still-image  capture. 

It  supports  VGA,  Super 
VGA,  high  color,  and  true  col- 
or displays.  The  image  on- 
screen is  continuously  updat- 
ed from  the  camera.  When 
you  see  something  you  want 
to  capture,  press  the  Enter 
key,  and  the  frame  is  grabbed 
in  1/3o  second  (though  it  takes 
somewhat  longer  to  prepare 
the  image  for  display  on- 
screen). There  is  also  a  way  to 
capture  an  image  in  1/6o  sec- 
ond. Once  you've  captured 
your  image,  you  can  save  it  to 


disk  as  a  TIF,  PCX,  TGA,  GIF, 
or  BMP  file.  (You  can  use  BMP 
files  as  Windows  wallpaper.) 

Want  to  capture  images  out 
in  the  real  world?  Just  load  the 
software  on  your  laptop,  plug 
in  the  card,  grab  your  video 
camera,  and  you're  on  your 
way.  The  software  is  a  little 
clunky,  but  you'll  get  the  hang 
of  it  in  a  few  minutes.  Although 
the  DOS  software  was  the  on- 
ly kind  available  as  this  was  be- 
ing prepared,  Digital  Vision 
will  soon  release  a  Windows 
version.  Strangely,  though  it 
would  seem  a  natural,  there  is 
no  battery  pack  for  the  Com- 
puterEyes/LPT  Parallel  Port 
Color  Video  Frame  Grabber.  It 
has  to  run  from  a  wall  outlet. 
But  Digital  Vision  will  give  you 
pointers  on  designing  your 
own  battery  pack. 

Speaking  of  video  camer- 
as, have  you  noticed  how  in- 
expensive they  are?  You  can 
buy  a  VHS  camcorder  for  as 
little  as  $500.  A  camcorder  is 
a  wonderful  Computer  periph- 
eral. You  can  use  it,  along 
with  an  adapter  board,  to  cap- 
ture live  images  or  images 
from  videotape.  Another  au- 
thor I  work  with  had  a  water- 
color  he  wanted  to  use  on  his 
book  cover.  Lacking  a  gray- 
scale scanner,  I  decided  to 
see  how  the  camera  would  do 
with  still  images,  and  I'm  hap- 
py to  say  that  it  worked  great 
as  long  as  there  was  enough 
indirect  light  in  the  room. 

Have  a  DTP  tip  you'd  like  to 
share?  Let  me  know  about  it 
by  calling  (900)  884-8681 ,  ex- 
tension 7010203  (sponsored 
by  Pure  Entertainment,  P.O. 
Box  186,  Hollywood,  California 
90078).  The  call  costs  95 
cents  per  minute,  you  must  be 
18  or  older,  and  you  must  use 
a  touch-tone  phone.  Or  write 
to  "Art  Works"  in  care  of  this 
magazine.  And  if  you  don't 
have  a  tip,  call  to  let  me  know 
what  you're  up  to,  what  soft- 
ware you're  using,  and  how  I 
can  be  of  help.  D 


88 


COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


Purple  Car  Lands  on  Moon! 


)ue  to  a  freak  accident  at  the  Fireworks  Factory,  Putt-Putt  is  blasted  to  the  moon, 
here  he  meets  Rover,  a  ^m         ^  — *  lonely  little  lunar  terrain 

ehicle  left  behind  by  the  *^Ha M  ^31         _^^    astronauts.  Putt-Putt  and 

Hover  must  work  #*        w       f     i  '  ^H      ^  '  together  to  rebuild  a 

-ocket,  and  ^fl         ,,  M  ^B   Ai^L  W^  accomplish  a  tew  i^ood 

Jeedsforthe         /   LAf      "   ^^fl  fl^Mfe'  Moon  People  before  they 

Tieet  the  Man  in      xik  2HI     J^-L^M  W-Bl^.    *^e   Moon   an^   are   homeward 

>ound.   Putt  Putt  ^k    JT^V^jS?^  |U  ^\  ■■■^  ^^    Goes  to  the  Moon  teaches  the  bene- 

fits of  cooperation    ^KvW^7#1Ul  ^    and  the  lasting  value  of  friendship. 


o 


0 


Ages 
3-8 

IT 
.TALKS! 


Want  to  buy  our  rocket?  It's 
for  sale*  Only  10  glowing 
moon  crystals. 


Governor 

Moonbeam.  And  yon  must  be? 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number 


113 


DISCOVERY  CHOICE 


Children  become  tycoons  as  they  learn 

how  to  run  a  dinosaur  theme  park 

in  this  entertaining  business  simulation. 

David  Gerdtng 


DINOPARK 
TYCOON 

Remember  the  old  lemonade- 
stand  games?  Kids  could  run 
a  simulated  lemonade  stand 
and  theoretically  learn  the  ba- 
sics of  business  in  the  proc- 
ess. The  earliest  examples  of 
these  programs  were  down- 
right dry,  lacking  all  but  the 
most  basic  graphics  and  fea- 
turing economic  models  that 
could,  at  best,  be  called  sim- 
plistic. Students  quickly  lost  in- 
terest in  these  programs  be- 
cause the  programs  lacked 
depth. 

Enter  MECC.  Its  latest  re- 
lease moves  the  concept  of  a 
lemonade-stand  simulation  in- 
to the  nineties.  Instead  of  sell- 
ing lemonade,  DinoPark  Ty- 
coon players  are  offered  the 
tantalizing  possibility  of  open- 
ing their  own  dinosaur  theme 
park.  "We  know  kids  love  eve- 
rything about  dinosaurs  and 
tried  to  figure  out  how  we 
could  tie  that  in  to  a  title  that 
teaches  about  business," 
says  Dean  Kephardt  of 
MECC. 

Don't  get  the  idea  that  this 
is  a  takeoff  on  the  movie  Juras- 
sic Park.  Kephardt  says  the 
program  was  in  the  making 
long  before  the  movie  hit  the 
theater.  In  DinoPark  Tycoon, 
there  is  no  battle  between  di- 
nosaur and  man.  Instead,  chil- 
dren face  a  dutiful  banker 
who  will  foreclose  their  busi- 
ness if  they  fail  to  make  a 
loan  payment. 

Children  start  out  with  a 
$5,000  bank  loan  and  an  ani- 
mated screen  full  of  store- 
fronts that  provide  access  to 
all  the  supplies  and  services 
needed  to  get  their  business 
off  the  ground.  Operation  is  ex- 
tremely straightforward  and 
uses  the  mouse  exclusively. 


If  young  proprietors  are 
stumped  at  first,  an  animated 
dinosaur  appears  and  walks 
them  through  the  program. 

The  first  order  of  business 
is  purchasing  land,  which 
kids  can  do  in  the  real  estate 
office.  The  cheaper  the  land, 
the  more  they  can  spend  on 
their  dino  attractions,  but  the 
farther  they  are  from  the  city — 
which  means  fewer  paying 
customers.  To  further  compli- 
cate the  purchase  decision, 
each  dino  species  has  a  nat- 
ural preference  for  one  cli- 
mate over  another. 

The  next  step  is  to  obtain 
fencing  to  retain  the  dino- 
saurs. That  done,  kids  need 
to  hire  a  tour  guide  from  the 
employment  office  and  then 
head  to  Dino  City,  the  Wal- 
Mart  of  dinosaur  stores.  In  Di- 
no City,  children  can  call  up 
facts  about  each  of  the  dino- 
saurs they're  considering. 

DinoPark  Tycoon  forces 
the  kids  to  think  ahead.  Some 
dtnos  eat  more  than  others 
and  thus  cost  more  to  main- 
tain, for  instance.  The  game 
is  filled  with  opportunities  to 
learn  important  businesslike 


distinctions  such  as  this  one. 

When  the  children  click  on 
the  Park  button,  the  park 
opens  and  the  simulation  be- 
gins. During  the  simulation,  a 
click  on  the  Park  button  re- 
veals a  bird's-eye  view  of  the 
operating  park,  complete 
with  animated  dinosaurs. 

Once  the  park  is  running, 
kids  will  spend  most  of  their 
time  patronizing  the  stores 
and  charting  the  progress  of 
the  business  in  the  office, 
where  screens  full  of  graphs 
and  other  information  reveal 
ongoing  success  or  impend- 
ing failure.  Sources  of  reve- 
nue include  ticket  sales  and 
concessions;  expenses  run 
the  gamut  from  dinosaur  feed 
to  yearly  income  tax  and  inter- 
est on  that  bank  loan. 

Kids  will  quickly  learn  by 
■watching  the  graphs  of  reve- 
■  je  that  attendance  demand 
is  cyclical,  rising  and  falling 
with  certain  seasons.  They 
can  set  ticket  prices  and  buy 
advertising  to  complement 
these  cycles. 

The  simulation  passes  in 


90         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


time:  Days,  months,  and  quar- 
ters roll  by  as  the  children 
work  through  a  variety  of  situ- 
ations. Players  will  encounter 
everything  from  escaped  di- 
nos  and  sick  employees  to 
closed  highways  cutting  off  ac- 
cess to  their  park.  It's  the  un- 
expected or  infrequent  situa- 
tions that  really  challenge  the 
business  and  child  to  respond 
and  grow.  A  child  lucky 
enough  to  generate  enough  rev- 
enue to  afford  a  coveted  Tyran- 
nosaurus  rex,  for  example, 
may  be  shocked  when  the 
prize  attraction  starts  eating 
the  other  dinosaurs. 

Keeping  the  staff  paid  and 
the  dinos  fed  and  healthy  is  an 
ongoing  task  that  requires  kids 
to  analyze  graphs  and  numbers 
and  make  decisions  based  on 
their  assumptions.  The  trick  is  to 
scratch  out  enough  profit  to  ex- 
pand the  park  with  capital  im- 
provements and  bigger  and  bet- 
ter dinosaurs. 

DinoPark  Tycoon  suc- 
ceeds because  it  provides  a 
good  bit  of  depth  to  the  vari- 
ables found  in  business. 
There  are  numerous  labor 
needs,  including  veterinari- 
ans, security  guards,  and  con- 
cessions attendants.  Kids  will 
find  some  of  these  employees 
valuable  and  some  superflu- 
ous,   but   they'll    figure   out 


DinoPark  Tycoon  offers  all  the  tools 
necessary  to  teach  business  basics. 

which  are  which  only  through 
lots  of  experimentation. 

When  the  park  is  profitable, 
a  child  can  sell  the  business, 


effectively  ending  the  game. 
If  the  business  has  done  real- 
ly well,  the  player  is  present- 
ed with  an  onscreen  award 
for  best  park  and  afforded  en- 
try into  the  top  scores  list. 

MECC  offers  two  versions 
of  DinoPark  Tycoon:  a  consum- 
er retail  version  and  a  special 
school  version.  The  school  ver- 
sion includes  the  regular  retail 
software  as  well  as  classroom 
exercises  for  the  students 
and  background  sheets  for 
the  teacher. 

Teachers  are  excited 
about  DinoPark  Tycoon's  abil- 
ity to  get  some  business  ba- 
sics across  to  kids.  JoAnna 
Rash,  an  elementary  school 
teacher  in  Issaquah,  Washing- 
ton, got  some  kids  together  to 
assess  the  program  for 
MECC.  She  says  it  received 
an  enthusiastic  response. 

MECC's  Kephardt  says 
that  the  classroom  testing 
helped  the  company  identify 
some  additional  features  that 
would  make  it  easier  for  stu- 
dents to  use  the  product,  in- 
cluding the  dinosaur  tour 
guide  that  assists  kids  in  get- 
ting started.  The  company  al- 
so added  a  saved  game  that 
will  help  children  who  have 
trouble  with  the  game  get  a 
head  start.  It  gives  the  child 
$20,000  to  start  off  with  (in- 
stead of  $5,000)  and  a  park 
with  two  dinosaurs. 

Overall,  DinoPark  Tycoon 
is  highly  recommended. 
While  cartoonish  rather  than  re- 
alistic, the  graphics  are  color- 
ful and  engaging.  MECC  has 
done  an  especially  good  job 
of  incorporating  digitized 
sounds  in  a  humorous  way  as 
well.  There's  also  plenty  of  in- 
cidental animation  to  hold  the 
attention  of  young  tycoons 
while  the  simulation  runs. 

The  game  isn't  entirely  with- 
out arcadelike  excitement, 


Kids  hungering  for  the  gore  in 
Jurassic  Park  will  find  pleas- 
ure in  trying  to  squash  buzz- 
ing flies  between  the  pages 
of  the  Dino  Diner  menu  with  a 
quick  click  of  the  mouse. 
Even  parents  will  get  a  kick 
out  of  this. 

It's  a  shame  MECC  didn't 
pay  as  much  attention  to  the 
manual  as  it  did  to  the  rest  of 
the  game.  There's  no  clue  giv- 
en as  to  what's  considered 
good  business  in  this  mod- 
eled world.  It  may. take  some 
kids  lots  of  play  to  determine 
just  the  right   mix  that  will 


IBM  PC  or 
compatible  (80386 
compatible),  565K 
RAM.  DOS  5  Or 
higher,  VGA,  at- 
tach Noppy  drive, 
bard  drive  with 
8MB  free,  mouse; 
supports  Ad  Lib, 


drive  demand.  You  may  want 
to  play  with  your  children  to 
help  them  past  the  frustration 
they're  likely  to  encounter  ear- 
ly on.  Along  the  way,  you'll 
probably  find  yourself  joining 
in  the  fun—or  booting  the 
game  up  after  the  kids  are 
asleep  to  try  your  hand  at  be- 
coming a  tycoon. 

MECC  has  succeeded  in 
creating  a  title  that  will  pro- 
vide fun  for  kids  while  teach- 
ing them  a  number  of  funda- 
mental business  concepts, 
from  supply  and  demand  to 
profit  and  loss  statements. 
DinoPark  Tycoon  is  an  engag- 
ing simulation  your  young  en- 
trepreneurs will  be  anxious  to 
play  again  and  again,  O 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  392 


Sound  Blaster,  and 
compatible  sound 
boards— $59.95 

MECC 

6160  Summit  Dr.  N 

Minneapolis,  MN 

55403 

(BOO)  685-6322 


MARCH  1994     COMPUTE        91 


GAME  INSIDER 


Shay  Addams 


Now  you  can  lake 

control  of 

an  Imperial  TIE 

Fighter. 


TIE  FIGHTER 
TAKES  OFF 

X-Wing,  perhaps  the  best 
space  combat  game  of  all 
time,  took  off  from  the  shelves 
like  a  runaway  rocket  and  flew 
with  enough  momentum  to 
launch  several  successful 
Tour  of  Duty  disks  with  new  mis- 
sions and  ships  to  fly  as  a  pi- 
lot in  the  Rebel  Alliance.  Now 
TIE  Fighter,  a  stand-alone  se- 
quel to  X-Wing,  is  scheduled 
to  take  off  this  month.  Avid 
space  combat  fans  are  likely 
to  find  designers  Dough  Hol- 


land and  Ed  Kilham  have 
scored  again.  Like  Rebel  As- 
sault, which  was  released  on 
CD-ROM  last  November,  TIE 
Fighter  is  staged  in  the  Star 
Wars  universe.  But  Rebel  As- 
sault is  more  of  an  action 
game  than  a  simulation,  so 
you  can't  really  call  it  an  X- 
Wing  sequel.  LucasArts  lets 
you  play  the  bad  guy  in  TIE 
Fighter,  a  rare  occurrence  in 
computer  gaming.  You'll  be  fly- 
ing for  the  Dark  Side  of  the 
Force,  taking  on  the  role  of  a 
young  recruit  in  the  Imperial 
Forces. 

There  are  three  Tours  of  Du- 
ty in  the  game,  and  your  com- 
mander in  one  is  the  evil  Darth 
Vader  himself.  A  half-dozen  Im- 
perial ship  types  are  depicted 
with  even  better  polygon  graph- 
ics than  those  seen  in  X-Wing. 
Five  of  them  appear  as  enemy 
craft  in  X-Wing,  and  gamers 
who  have  fought  the  TIE  Fight- 
ers, Interceptors,  and  Gun- 
boats in  that  game  are  proba- 
bly so  excited  by  this  chal- 


lenge that  they're  already  on 
the  way  to  the  software  store 
instead  of  reading  this  col- 
umn. A  new,  never-before- 
seen  TIE  Starfighter  may  be 
the  ultimate  ride  for  those  who 
dare  fight  for  the  Dark  Side. 

Interplay  reaches  for  stars. 
Interplay's  Star  Reach  looks  at 
space  combat  from  a  different 
angle.  The  game  is  similar  to 
MicroProse's  Masters  of  Orion 
in  the  sense  that  you  conquer 
planets  and  develop  resourc- 
es to  take  over  the  stars,  but 
Star  Reach  offers  a  two-play- 
er option  in  which  opponents 
fight  action-style  space  battles 
in  realtime.  The  game  unfolds 
in  a  split-screen  display;  a  sin- 
gle-player mode  lets  you  play 
against  the  computer.  Star 
Reach  combines  elements  of 
Risk,  Stratego,  and  Asteroids, 
and  the  game  harnesses  the 
power  of  32-bit  programming 
to  deliver  fast  animation,  3-D 
ray-traced  spaceships,  digit- 
ized speech,  and  four-chan- 
nel sound  effects. 

Waves  of  Tsunami  games. 
Ringworld  2  is  yet  another  sci- 
ence-fiction title  headed  for 
the  stores  this  month,  and  Tsu- 
nami promises  adventurers  a 
lot  more  game  this  time.  The 
company  says  that  the  first 
Ringworld,  based  on  Larry  Ni- 
ven's  series  of  science-fiction 
novels,  "should  have  been  pos- 
tured as  introductory  story- 
telling, not  hard-core  adven- 
ture." Ringworld  2  will  be  more 
puzzle  oriented  and  will  offer 
the  player  a  choice  of  three 
characters  to  play.  Not  only 
will  it  be  harder,  but  it  will  also 
offer  more  replay  value.  In  oth- 
er Tsunami  news,  Jim  Walls 
won't  be  doing  the  next  Blue 
Force.  Michael  Levine,  author 
of  the  novels  Deep  Cover  and 
The  Big  White  Lie,  is  design- 
ing Blue  Force  II.  Walls,  a  re- 
tired California  Highway  Patrol 
officer  who  designed  Sierra's 
first  three  Police  Quests,  is  re- 
portedly branching  out  to  dif- 
ferent genres  within  the  adven- 


ture game  kingdom  and  is 
also  working  on  an  education- 
al program. 

Dynamix  diversifies.  Dy- 
namix  is  moving  in  new  direc- 
tions this  year.  The  company 
plans  to  stick  with  the  kind  of 
simulations  and  sports 
themes  it's  done  so  well,  while 
adding  new  kinds  of  games 
such  as  Explorer,  a  strategy 
game  that  might  be  described 
as  Civilization  in  space.  Explor- 
er was  designed  by  Joe  Ybar- 
ra,  who  produced  Star  Flight 
at  Electronic  Arts  and  did  The 
Shadow  of  Yserbius  for  Sierra. 
Along  with  Battledrome,  an  ac- 
tion-oriented robot  game,  Ex- 
plorer is  scheduled  to  ship  in 
March.  (Sierra,  the  parent  com- 
pany of  Dynamix,  also  has  a 
science-fiction  game  planned 
for  March.  Its  Outpost  isn't  a 
typical  space  game;  it's  a  re- 
alistic exploration  game 
based  on  NASA  technology 
and  research.)  But  the  biggest 
surprise  from  Dynamix — and 
the  only  thing  that's  made  me 
want  to  even  look  at  a  3DO  ma- 
chine so  far — is  its  March-slat- 
ed release  of  Red  Baron  for 
3DO.  This  classic  flight  simu- 
lator has  been  updated  with 
spectacular  24-bit  3DO  graph- 
ics. In  the  past  few  months  Dy- 
namix has  also  released  Stel- 
lar 7  and  The  Incredible  Ma- 
chine for  3DO. 

Later  LucasArts.  The  Dig, 
an  adventure  from  Brian  Mori- 
arty  and  Steven  Spielberg, 
has  been  delayed  until  later 
this  year.  It's  now  expected 
sometime  this  summer,  and  it 
will  ship  initially  on  CD-ROM. 
Two  games  on  the  way  from 
Sir-Tech  have  also  been 
pushed  back  until  around 
April.  Both  Jagged  Alliance 
and  Star  Trail,  the  second  in 
the  Realms  of  Arkania  series 
imported  from  Europe,  are 
scheduled  for  CD-ROM  as 
well  as  floppy  release.  Sto- 
nekeep,  Interplay's  long-await- 
ed RPG,  was  rescheduled  for 
the  middle  of  the  year.        "I 


92 


COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


An  ORIGIN  Interactive  Movie 


TM 


Copyright  ©  1994  ORIGIN  Systems.  Inc.  BioForge  and  ORIGIN  Interactive  Movie  are  trademarks  of  ORIGIN  Systems,  Inc.  Origin  and  We  create  worlds  are 
registered  trademarks  of  ORIGIN  Systems,  Inc.  Electronic  Arts  is  a  registered  trademark  of  Electronic  Arts.  Intel.  Intel486  and  Pentium  are  trademarks 
of  Intel  Corporation. 

Available  at  a  software  retailer  near  you,  or  call  1  -800-245-4525  for  MC/Visa/Discover  orders. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  160 


Employs  the  camera  and  editing 
techniques  found  in  your  favorite 
movies  —  from  varied  camera 
angles  to  rapid-fire  cut 
sequences,  long  shots  and 
closeups  for  emotional  impact. 

Eliminates  the  artificial  breaks 
between  interactive  and  viewed 
portions  of  a  game  —  the  story 
is  melded  into  a  single  cinematic 
experience. 

Directs  the  pacing  and  tempo  so 
that  the  plot  flows  swiftly  but 
smoothly,  fueled  by  your 
decisions. 


For  a  great  gamc  experience, 

WE  RECOMMiNO  AN   INTEL486  rvi 


DX2  or  Pentium™ 

PROCESSOR- BASED  SYSTEM, 


FOR  LITERATURE  ON  INTEL 
PROCESSORS,   CALL 


l-BOG-756-8766 


An  Electronic  Arts*  Company 

P.O.  BOX  161750  AUSTIN,  TX  78716 


u>< 


ENTERTAINMENT  CHOICE 


Stunning  3-D  texture  mapping,  user  control  over 

almost  every  variable,  and  real-world  attention  to  physics  make 

this  the  benchmark  racing  simulation  of  the  future. 

Scott  A.  May 


INDYCAR  RACING 

Rarely  have  so  many  creative 
ideas  come  together  with 
such  perfect  precision  as  in 
Papyrus  Publishing's  IndyCar 
Racing,  the  new  benchmark 
for  all  future  driving  simula- 
tions. The  game  was  de- 
signed by  David  Kaemmer,  au- 
thor of  Electronic  Arts'  1989  8- 
bit  bestseller,  Indianapolis 
500:  The  Simulation.  Kaem- 
mer  combines  his  previous 
expertise  with  new  break- 
through graphic  and  3-D  mod- 
eling routines,  taking  full  ad- 
vantage of  today's  32-bit  proc- 
essing power.  The  results  will 
leave  you  breathless. 

Eight  challenging  tracks  in 
the  official  Indy  car  circuit  are 
included,  and  additional 
track  disks  are  currently  in  de- 
velopment. All  curves,  banks, 
and  dips  in  elevation  in  the  ac- 
tual speedways  are  painstak- 
ingly rendered.  The  available 
tracks  offer  an  incredible  vari- 
ety of  racing  challenges.  Tack- 
le the  mean  streets  of  urban 
courses  like  Toronto's,  fa- 
mous for  its  hairpin  turns,  chi- 
canes, and  towering  offtrack 
landscape.  If  speed's  your 
thing,  you  can  run  hell-bent 
for  glory  at  the  all-time  speed 
champ,  Michigan's  Super 
Speedway.  Requiring  some- 
thing between  finesse  and  flat- 
out  insanity,  Monterey's 
Laguna  Seca  is  a  2.2-mile 
masterpiece  of  track  design 
that's  sure  to  be  a  favorite 
stop  on  your  racing  circuit. 

But  IndyCar  Racing  isn't 
just  for  speed  demons:  It's 
structured  to  offer  equal  ap- 
peal to  desktop  mechanics. 
Prerace  options  include  a 
choice  of  six  styles  of  racing 
chassis  and  five  engine 
types.  Realism  settings  allow 
you  to  select  the  race  length, 
from    1    to    100   percent   of 


each  track's  full  lap 
count.  All  races  can  be 
saved  and  restored  in  pro- 
gress. You  can  set  the  weath- 
er to  constant  or  random,  in- 
cluding variables  such  as  tem- 
perature, wind  strength  and  di- 
rection, and  rain.  Rookies  can 
turn  off  the  car  damage  varia- 
ble. This,  combined  with  op- 
tional computer-assisted  brak- 
ing and  autoshifting,  effective- 
ly turns  the  simulation  into  a 
game  of  high-tech  bumper 
cars. 

One-player  game  modes  in- 
clude single  races  and  the 
full  championship  season. 
Head-to-head  games  require 
two  computers  connected  via 
null  or  remote  modem  links. 
Modem  play  is  virtually  indistin- 
guishable from  single-player 
mode:  Your  human  opponent 
simply  becomes  part  of  the 
pack.  No  chat  mode  is  avail- 
able, but  there  are  onscreen 
icons  that  alert  you  to  broken 
connections.  Unlike  most  mo- 
dem-compatible games,  In- 
dyCar Racing  supports  COM 
ports  1-4  and  most  nonstan- 
dard IRQ  settings. 

The  simulation's  hallmark 


feature  is  its  extraordinary  at- 
tention to  real-world  physics. 
Car-handling  characteristics 
are  intricately  influenced  by  a 
daunting  number  of  variables, 
from  track  grade  and  tire  pres- 
sure to  the  downdraft  created 
by  a  full  fuel  tank.  Enter  the 
garage  to  fine-tune  your  sus- 
pension, fuel  load,  wing  set- 
tings, gearbox  ratios,  and 
tires.  Every  adjustment  produc- 
es a  realtime  effect.  If  you 
find  a  killer  combination  for  a 
particular  track,  save  the  set- 
tings to  disk.  Three  generic 
presets  (fast,  easy,  and  ace) 
are  available  for  those  not  in- 
terested in  tinkering  under  the 
hood.  And  Papyrus's  analog 
joystick  routine  should  be  an 
industry  standard— it's  tight, 
responsive,  and  capable  of 
holding  its  calibration  be- 
tween racing  sessions. 

Key  to  much  of  the  pro- 
gram's visual  success  is  ad- 
vanced 3-D  texture  mapping. 
The  proprietary  3-D  modeling 
engine  developed  by  Papy- 


94         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


rus  is  called  SuperTexture,  a 
technique  that  results  in  de- 
tailed surface  texturing,  ren- 
dered in  realtime,  from  any  per- 
spective. This  stunning  visual 
trick  offers  the  best  of  two 
worlds:  the  raw  speed  of  pol- 
ygon-based graphics  with  the 
color  and  realism  of  bitmap- 
ped textures. 

SuperTexture  is  used  to  fill 
blank  trackside  billboards 
with  colorful  logos  of  corpo- 
rate sponsors  and  to  splash 
authentic  numbers,  colors, 
and  sponsor  decals  onto 
each  car.  Other  examples  of 
high-speed  texture  mapping 
have  less  to  do  with  cosmetic 
appeal  than  genuine  on-track 
realism.  Textured  asphalt — a 
blur  of  multishaded  streaks 
and  track  discoloration — cre- 
ates a  marvelous  illusion  of 
speed.  The  designers  have 
evoked  stout  depth  of  field 
here;  you  get  an  honest 
sense  of  movement  across  a 
solid,  3-D  foreground.  It's  the 
closest  thing  to  the  rush  of  re- 
al driving  that  you'll  find  on 
the  computer  screen. 

The  price  for  graphics  ap- 
proaching photorealism  is 
processor  speed  and  memo- 
ry. Although  the  game  runs 
well  at  its  minimum  system  re- 
quirement, don't  expect  to 
use  all  the  graphic  frills  with- 
out experiencing  a  significant 
drop  in  performance.  The  pro- 
gram detects  your  system's  ca- 
pability  and  automatically 
sets  what  it  considers  the  ap- 
propriate graphic  level  and  an- 
imation frame  rate.  You  can 
tweak  these  settings  manual- 
ly from  the  main  menu,  selec- 
tively turning  on  or  off  periph- 
eral details,  and  then  test- 
drive  your  choices.  Your  first 
indication  that  graphic  detail 
is  set  too  high  is  a  noticeable 
difficulty  in  steering.  If  you're 
struggling  with  the  joystick, 


tone  down  any  nonessential 
graphics.  Those  with  an 
80486/33  or  higher  should  en- 
joy smooth  performance  at 
maximum  detail. 

This  game  absolutely 
swims  in  cutting-edge  visual  ef- 
fects. Some  of  the  best  are 
not  merely  aesthetically  pleas- 
ing but  closely  tied  to  on- 
track  performance.  Not  sure 
of  the  optimum  line?  Just  fol- 
low each  track's  groove,  a 
blackened  line  caused  by 
years  of  constant  tire  friction. 
Take  a  spin  through  the 
grass,  and  you'll  kick  up  a  re- 
alistic cloud  of  dust.  Slam  in- 
to any  solid  object  at  top 
speed  and  expect  to  lose  at 
least  one  tire.  In  a  close  race, 
accidents  often  result  in  spec- 
tacular multicar  pileups,  ren- 
dered with  bone-jarring  real- 
ism involving  explosions, 
smoke,  and  tires  and  debris 
scattered  down  the  quarter- 
mile  stretch. 

Don't  expect  to  be  the  only 
cause  of  track  mishaps,  as  in 
many  other  racing  games. 
When  you  see  the  yellow  cau- 
tion flag,  prepare  to  dodge 
one  or  more  cars  stopped 
dead.  Likewise,  while  other 
simulations  feature  dangerous- 
ly stubborn  computer  drivers 
who  invite  disaster  by  relent- 
lessly hogging  the  road,  the 
Al  employed  here  works  to 
avoid  collisions.  If  you  dog 
the  driver  ahead  of  you,  he'll 
usually  move  off  the  line  and 
allow  you  to  pass.  Expect 
both  competition  and  profes- 
sional courtesy  from  your  fel- 
low drivers,  who  are  modeled 
after  real-life  veterans  like  Al 
Unser,  Mario  Andretti,  Bobby 
Rahal,  and  Danny  Sullivan. 

About  the  only  thing  more  ex- 
citing than  driving  in  IndyCar 
Racing  is  watching  breathtak- 
ing replays  of  skillful  maneu- 
vers, photo  finishes,  and  spec- 


tacular crashes.  As  is  not  the 
case  with  most  efforts  in  the 
genre,  IndyCar  Racing's  re- 
plays are  limited  only  by  avail- 
able memory.  Another  nice 
touch:  Replays  automatically 
cue  to  the  leading  moments  be- 
fore a  major  event,  such  as  a 
finish  or  a  crash.  If  you'd  like  to 
view  the  entire  replay,  use  the 
VCR-style  interface  to  rewind 
the  tape  to  its  beginning. 

Of   course,    only    two   or 
three  camera  angles  simply 


IBM  PC  or 
compatible  (25- 
MHz  80386  or 
(aster,  80486 
recommended), 
4MB  RAM,  VGA  or 
SVGA,  hard  drive 
with  12MB  free; 
joystick  or 
combination 
steering  wheel  and 
pedal 

recommended, 
modem  optional, 


won't  do.  IndyCar  Racing's  re- 
play feature  records  your  glo- 
ry (and  agony)  from  seven 
spectacular  positions:  in-car, 
which  is  behind  the  right  front 
tire;  gear  box,  which  lets  you 
look  backward;  chase  car; 
sky;  blimp;  and  two  at  track- 
side.  Capture  some  particular- 
ly stunning  footage?  You  can 
save  it  to  disk  for  later  play- 
back. About  the  only  thing 
lacking  here  is  the  ability  to  ed- 
it replays  to  create  full-length 
racing  highlights. 

IndyCar  Racing  is  a  major 
accomplishment,  combining 
full-throttle  action  and  strate- 
gic challenge  for  both  new 
and  experienced  racing  fans. 
It's  one  of  those  rare  simula- 
tions that  you'll  grow  into,  not 
out  of,  as  you  race  repeated- 
ly for  the  checkered  flag.     □ 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  393 


supports  Sound 
Blaster,,  Sound 
Blaster  Pro,  Ad  Lib, 
Pro 

AudioSpectrum, 
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and  compatible 
sound  Hoards— 
$74.09 

PAPYRUS 
PUBLISHING 
Distributed  by 
Virgin  Games 
18061  Fitch  Ave. 
Irvine,  CA  92714 
(BOO)  874-4607 


MARCH  1994     COMPUTE         95 


GAMEPLAY 


Denny  Atkin 


SimCity  2000 

adds  plumbing, 

subways,  and 

older  intricacies  to 

the  popular 

city-building  game. 


SIMCITY  REDUX 

When  Maxis  announced  that  it 
was  going  to  release  a  new 
SimCity  game,  I  didn't  expect 
much.  It  just  didn't  seem  as  if 
any  sequel  could  possibly  cap- 
ture the  fun  of  the  original 
game.  None  of  the  SimSe- 
quels  so  far  had  grabbed  my 
attention. 

Well,  I  have  some  bad 
news.  Well,  bad  news  if  you 
have  a  job,  family,  or  any  oth- 
er responsibilities:  SimCity 
2000  is  easily  as  addictive  as 
the  original,  if  not  more  so.  I've 
been  playing  the  Macintosh 


idential,  and  commercial 
zones,  and  then  provide  serv- 
ices such  as  power  plants,  po- 
lice protection,  and  mass  trans- 
portation. But  there's  more 
lying  underneath  the  city 
now — literally,  since  you're 
now  concerned  with  sewage 
and  plumbing! 

SimCity  2000  replaces  the 
overhead  view  used  in  its  pred- 
ecessor with  an  isometric,  an- 
gled view  of  the  city.  This  is 
just  as  easy  to  work  with,  as 
SimCity  2000  lets  you  view 
your  city  from  any  side.  It 
makes  for  a  much  more  impres- 
sive-looking town,  as  you  can 


version  for  about  a  week  and 
a  half  now  (with  occasional 
breaks  for  sleeping,  eating, 
and  pretending  that  I'm  work- 
ing); the  DOS  version  will  be 
available  by  the  time  you  read 
this,  and  a  Windows  version 
should  be  available  this 
spring. 

Like  its  predecessor,  SimCi- 
ty 2000  puts  you  in  charge  of 
designing  and  administering  a 
city,  trying  to  make  the  city 
grow  while  keeping  the  citi- 
zens relatively  happy.  But 
SimCity  2000  takes  advantage 
of  the  faster,  more  powerful 
computers  of  1994  and  adds 
a  new  level  of  sophistication  to 
the  game.  The  basics  are  the 
same — you  build  industrial,  res- 


now  view  your  skyscrapers, 
bridges,  and  other  creations 
in  all  their  glory. 

This  new  version  really 
makes  the  earth  move,  thanks 
to  the  terrain  editor.  You  can 
create  your  town  on  a  random 
landscape  or  go  in  and  ter- 
raform  your  perfect  locale  by 
raising  or  razing  hills,  creating 
rivers  and  lakes,  and  planting 
forests. 

The  basic  gameplay  is  the 
same  as  in  the  original  SimCi- 
ty, but  you  have  many  more  op- 
tions for  most  commands,  and 
you  can  get  much  more  infor- 
mation about  what's  going  on 
in  your  town.  No  longer  are  all 
city  blocks  uniform  squares — 
your  industrial,  commercial, 


and  residential  zones  can  be 
huge  or  tiny.  You  now  have  ac- 
cess to  more  information 
about  city  services;  clicking 
on  a  police  station,  for  in- 
stance, brings  up  a  list  contain- 
ing the  number  of  officers  sta- 
tioned there,  the  number  of 
reported  crimes,  and  the  num- 
ber of  arrests  made,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  station's  budget. 
You  now  have  not  only  roads, 
but  also  highways,  tunnels,  on- 
ramps,  and  bus  depots.  In  ad- 
dition to  standard  commuter 
trains,  you  can  also  build  a  sub- 
way system.  To  power  your 
megalopolis  you  can  now 
choose  from  coal,  hydroelec- 
tric, oil,  gas,  nuclear,  wind,  so- 
lar, microwave,  and  fusion 
plants;  the  more  advanced 
plants  don't  come  into  play  un- 
til later  years. 

More  of  the  city's  infrastruc- 
ture is  modeled  in  SimCity 
2000,  Education  affects  the  ma- 
keup of  your  city  as  in  real  life, 
so  you  should  sprinkle 
schools,  colleges,  libraries, 
and  museums  throughout  the 
area.  To  support  all  of  these, 
of  course,  your  burg  needs 
bucks,  so  you'll  have  to  levy  tax- 
es. You  can  balance — or 
break — your  budget  using  the 
new  Ordinance  feature,  which 
lets  you  levy  sales  and  income 
taxes  (as  well  as  the  ever-pop- 
ular parking  fines),  start  govern- 
ment programs  (such  as  home- 
less shelters,  city  beautifica- 
tion,  and  tourist  advertising), 
and  even  legalize  gambling. 

AH  of  these  new  options  are 
controlled  by  a  multiwindow  us- 
er interface  that's  a  breeze  to 
use.  Too  many  products  that 
add  features  get  unnecessar- 
ily complex  (what  percentage 
of  your  word  processor's  fea- 
tures do  you  really  use?),  but 
Maxis  has  managed  to  build 
on  the  foundation  established 
by  the  classic  SimCity  without 
collapsing  the  fun  factor.  Bra- 
vo for  what  surely  ranks  as 
one  of  the  best  computer 
game  sequels  ever.  D 


96 


COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


Bring  Home  The  Magic  Of  Children's 
Musical  Theatre ™  With  Dr.  T's  Sing-A-Long! 


"Click". 

to  repeat  songs  and 
turn  lyrics  on  and  off. 

Large,  Colorful 
Buttons 

give  the  smallest 
hands  big  control  over 

the  music. 

Lyrics  &  Notes 

scroll  to  the  music. 

Dancing  Icon 

helps  the  singer  follow 

along  and  read  the 

words  and  music! 


Brilliant  Animation 

brings  each  song  to  life! 

'Actors" 

talk  to  the  audience. 


)r.  T's  Sing-A-Long  Is  Musical  Software  That 
Hits  Your  Child  In  The  Middle  Of  The  Music, 
rhe  LyricSf.The  Animation.. .The  Fun! 

"he  songs  and  lyrics  are  directed  right  at  the  computer  while 
our  child  sings  along  to  over  25  Classic  Children's  songs. 

lach  one  is  an  engaging  story  with  its  own  actors  and  animation. 

fsy  Bitsy  Spider,  Old  MacDonald,  Yankee  Doodle,  Mary  and  her  Little 
amb,  and  all  the  other  characters  provide  hours  of  entertainment  while 
lvolving  your  child  with  basic  learning  skills. 

harents  and  educators  agree  —  Dr.  T's  Sing-A-Long  is  the 
inovative  way  to  teach  reading  words  and  music.  Lyrics  scroll  in 
me  with  the  music  so  learning  is  fun.  You  can  print  the  music  and  lyrics 
n  virtually  any  printer. 

*r.,  T's  Sing-A-Long 
rows  with  your  child 

tart  your  small  one  in 
ittle  Kids  Mode.  The 
implified  interface 
evelops  singing,  reading, 
nd  mouse  skills,  while  it 
rotects  Windows  from  a 
hild's  curiosity.  As 
bilities  progress,  use 
brmalMode. 

icluded 

imple  instructions  for  adding  a  microphone  to  record  performances.  Any 
randparent  would  treasure  a  recording!  Software  supports  all  popular  sound 
ards  and  CD  ROM  drives. 

ull-color  Dr.  T's  Sing-A-Long  Songbook.  The  songs,  with  words  and  sheet  music, 
re  beautifully  illustrated  with  animated  screen  characters. 


Ly 

794? 

Dr.  T's  Sing-A-Long 

Make  It  Your  Child's  First  Software.. 

it's  Never  Too  Early  To  Sing! 

Call  1-800-282-1366 

For  fastest  ordering  Or  Fax  1-716-873-0906 

Make  Your  Child  A  "Star" 
Only  $29.95 

Free  Delivery  Included 

Requirements:  Windows  3. !    IBM  386  or  compatible  computer    CD-ROM  drive  or  3.5" 
floppy  drive    VGA  display    4  MB  ofRj\M  and  2  MB  free  hard  disk  drive  ■  Sound  card. 

]  YES!    P'ease  send  me  Dr.  T's  Sing-A-Long.  rj  3.5"  disk  □  CD  ROM  disk 


Name  (please 

print  clearly) 

Address 

City 
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□  MasterCard 

State                      Zip 
f"]  American  Express 

Credit  Card  Number 

Expiration  Date 

Signature  Phone  Number 

Or  make  check  payable  in  US  Funds  and  mail  to:  Dr.  T's   Music  Software  ( 

PQ  Box  119,  Buffalo.  NY  14207 

Dr  T's  Music  Software,  Inc.  All  Rights  Reserved. 

NY,  MA,  CA,  residents:  Please  add  applicable  sales  tax. 

COM394 


While  there  are  a  few  intolerably  smug  people  who  can 
easily  soak  up  a  new  language,  the  rest  of  us  have  to 
work  at  it.  Ever  since  the  curse  of  Babel,  people  have 
been  trying  to  find  a  painless  way  to  acquire  a  second 
language,  through  techniques  ranging  from  hypnosis 
to  sleep-learning  to  the  use  of  magic  rings.  It's  no  wonder  that  the  personal  comput- 
er has  been  pressed  into  service  as  a  language  tutor.  The  past  several  years  have 
seen  the  appearance  of  a  number  of  programs  that  purport  to  help  you  learn  a  for- 
eign language;  many  of  the  newer  programs  take  advantage  of  CD-ROM  technology 

to  provide  digitized  video  and  recordings  of  native  r — — , 

speakers  to  help  your  pronunciation.  But  upgrading 
their  systems  isn't  a  move  that  many  users  are  pre- 
pared (or  able)  to  make  yet,  and  while  some  CD-ROM 
programs  are  alsd^  available  in  dlsOormat,  they  may 
take  up  to  40MB  on  your  hard  drive.  So  the  big  question  is  whether  there's  anything 
out  there  that  can  help  you  get  bilingual  without  making  a  big  hardware  investment 

or  further  taxing  an  already  overtaxed  hard  disk. 

The  good  news  first:  Yes,  there  is.  While  it's  not  like- 
ly that  any  computer-based  instruction  can  ever 
replace  classroom  or  real-world  experience  in  learning 
a  second  language,  the  programs  covered  here  can  be 
of  some  help  to  people  who  wish  to  practice  above  and  beyond  the  call  of  the  cur- 
riculum. Even  better,  the  largest  of  these  requires  no  more  than  15MB  of  drive 
space,  and  most  require  much  less.  The  programs  reflect  different  philosophies  of 


■ 


YOU  CAN  USE  YOUR  PERSONAL  COMPUTER  TO  LEARN  AND  PRA( 


language  learning,  which  may  be  a  good  thing.  People  do,  after  all,  have  different 

ways  of  learning  a  subject  and  different  reasons  for  wanting  to  know  a  new  language. 

The  bad  news  is  that  no  matter  which  of  these  programs  you  choose,  you're  still 

going  to  have  to  use  your  brain. 
A  common  way  to  begin  learning  a  language  is  to  memorize  basic  words  and 

phrases  so  you  can  get  by  in  a  foreign-language  environment.  The  EZ  Language 

^  _,_,  series  from  Future  Trends  Software  is  a  good  place  to 

start.  EZ  Language  is  the  PC  version  of  the  traveler's 
vest-pocket  phrase  book.  There  is  no  attempt  to 
instruct  the  user  in  grammar.  EZ  Language  simply  tells 
J  you  what  to  say  to  get  what  you  want,  and  it's  perhaps 
less  concerned  with  comprehension  than  with 

results — probably  the  main  concern  of  most  tourists.  Once  past  the  title  screen,  you 

enter  the  colorful  Main  menu,  which  consists  of  eight  subject  areas  (Basic  Phrases, 

Arrival,  Eating  Out,  Shopping,  and  so  on).  Clicking  on 

any  of  these  areas  will  give  you  a  series  of  phrases  and 

illustrated  vocabulary  words;  click  on  any  of  these,  and 

you'll  hear  a  native  speaker  of  the  language  say  the 

word  or  phrase  (EZ  Language  can  use  the  PC  speaker 

if  you  don't  have  a  sound  card,  though  you'll  have  to 

load  a  driver  for  it).  If  you  have  a  microphone  to  plug  into  your  sound  card,  you  can 

record  and  play  back  your  own  voice  to  check  on  your  pronunciation.  Once  you  have 

gone  through  the  whole  lesson,  you'll  be  tested.  Correct  answers  get  a  gong  of 

acknowledgement;  wrong  answers  get  a  bizarre  cuckoo  whistle. 
EZ  Language  is  fun  to  play  with;  interspersed  with  the  lessons  are  fun  facts  about 

the  country  and  digitized  photographs  of  scenery.  It  can  be  instructional  on  a  very 


riCE  FOREIGN-LANGUAGE  SKILLS.  ARTICLE  BY  ANTHONY  MOSES 


basic  level,  though  you  have  to  wonder 
who  its  intended  audience  is.  As  a 
phrase  book,  it's  bulkier  (and  less  com- 
prehensive) than  the  old  vest-pocket 
editions,  and  not  many  tourists  carry 
their  laptops  everywhere  they  go  on 
vacation.  The  tests  are  also  occasional- 
ly so  transparent  that  they're  no  real 
gauge  of  ability.  If  the  test  sentence  is 

Le est  cass  and  only  one  of  the 

four  English  choices  has  a  blank  in  it, 
can  you  guess  which  is  correct?  Users 
who  are  looking  for  a  basic  tourist-sur- 
vival vocabulary  will  find  EZ  Language 
useful,  and  children  just  beginning  in  a 
foreign  language  will  find  it  a  lot  of  fun. 
But  while  the  technique  of  beginning  in 
a  language  by  memorizing  vocabulary 
and  expressions  is  certainly  valid,  older 
and  more  serious  language  students 
will  want  to  look  for  something  a  bit 
more  substantial. 

Torture  for  the  Advanced 

A  more  substantial  program  for  build- 
ing a  store  of  words  and  phrases  is 
the  Word  Torture  series  from 
HyperGlot  (available  in  Spanish, 
German,  French,  and  Italian).  Word 
Torture  is  a  high-tech  take  on  an  old 
language  class  standby,  the  flashcard 
drill.  Word  Torture's  Preference  Page 
lets  you  set  up  the  conditions  for  your 
drill:  You  can  choose  from  three 
vocabulary  lists  and  decide  how  many 
words  to  include  in  the  session,  the 
order  in  which  the  words  will  appear 
(random  or  alphabetical),  the  length  of 
the  pause  between  words,  and 
whether  to  use  the  flashcard  or  test 
mode.  Once  you're  set  up  back  at  the 
Work  Page,  Word  Torture  will  flash  a 
word  in  either  the  original  or  the  target 
language.  If  you're  in  flashcard  mode, 
the  translation  will  pop  up  in  the 
Correct  Answer  window;  if  you're  in 
test  mode,  type  the  answer  in  another 
window  and  wait  for  the  verdict.  Word 
Torture  keeps  a  tab  on  your  perfor- 
mance and  tells  you  your  score. 

Working  on  the  flashcard  model, 
but  taking  it  a  step  further,  is  the 
VocabuLearn/ce  series  from  Penton 
Overseas.  It's  available  in  a  number  of 
languages,  in  both  DOS  and  Windows 
formats.  Beginners  will  probably  opt 
for  the  default  setup,  which  presents  a 
series  of  English  words  and  phrases 
whose  foreign-language  counterparts 
are  hidden  until  you  click  them  onto 
the  screen.  You  may  work  at  your  own 
pace  or  click  on  the  Scan  option, 
which  flashes  the  cards  at  you  at  an 
adjustable  rate.  What  VocabuLearn/ce 
offers  over  Word  Torture  is  sound.  If 
you  stick  with  the  default  word  order 
in  VocabuLearn/ce,  you  can  use  the 
two  90-minute  cassettes  that  come  in 
the  package.  As  you  click  from  word 

100      COMPUTE    MARCH   1994 


Pronunciation  Tutor  gives  you  a  start  in 
teaming  to  speak  like  a  native. 


German  Word  Torture  drills  you  on  your 
language  skills  using  flashcard  techniques. 

to  word,  you  can  listen  to  native 
speakers  pronouncing  the  words  on 
the  flashcards.  Once  the  drill 
becomes  too  comfortable,  you  can  go 
into  the  Options  menu  and  liven  things 
up  a  little  by  randomizing  the  order  of 
the  flashcards,  changing  the  automat- 
ic Scan  rate,  or  choosing  to  type  in 
the  correct  answers.  You  can  enable 
the  Hint  function,  which  supplies  clues 
like  those  on  "Wheel  of  Fortune." 

Tense  About  Learning 

English  speakers  trying  to  learn  a  for- 
eign language  probably  have  more 
trouble  with  verb  tenses  than  with  any 
other  aspect  of  grammar.  Conse- 
quently, one  of  the  first  tasks  of  a  new 
language  learner  is  to  memorize  verb 
conjugation  tables.  Tense  Tutor,  avail- 
able from  HyperGlot  (in  Spanish, 
German,  Italian,  and  French),  drills  you 
in  your  understanding  and  listening 
comprehension  of  verb  tenses.  To 
begin,  you're  given  a  list  of  the  tenses 
in  the  language;  click  on  any  of  these 
tenses,  and  you'll  be  switched  to  the 
testing  screen.  Click  on  the  Test  Me 
button,  and  a  digitized  voice  will  speak 
a  sentence  in  the  language  you're 
studying.  You  then  respond  by  typing 
in  the  tense  form  you  think  you've 
heard.  If  you'd  like  a  hint  or  two  before 
you  commit  yourself  to  an  answer, 
Tense  Tutor  will  oblige.  You  can  ask  for 
an  English  translation  of  the  sentence 
or  call  up  a  conjugation  chart  of  the 
verb  forms  of  the  tense  you  have 
selected;  the  Comments  button  pro- 
vides miscellaneous  information  about 
tense  usage  in  the  sentence  you're 
working  on,  while  Tense  Help  lets  you 
review  the  basics  of  tense  formation.  If, 
despite  all  this  help,  your  answer  is  still 
wrong,  Tense  Tutor  will  keep  retesting 


you  on  all  the  tense  forms  you've 
missed  until  you  get  them  all  right — or 
until  you  choose  to  abandon  retesting 
and  move  on  to  another  tense. 

One  important  key  to  being  under- 
stood—and avoiding  hoots  of  derisive 
laughter — when  speaking  a  foreign 
language  is  pronunciation,  and  the 
only  way  to  perfect  pronunciation  is 
continual  practice.  This  usually  means 
spending  hours  listening  to  tapes  in  a 
language  lab.  HyperGlot's  Pronuncia- 
tion Tutor  (available  in  Spanish  and 
French  for  PC  users)  is  useful  for  ded- 
icated students  who  want  an  extra  bit 
of  practice  at  home.  Pronunciation 
Tutor  provides  a  list  of  click-on  but- 
tons dealing  with  such  topics  as  basic 
vowel  and  consonant  sounds  in  the 
language,  stress  and  accent,  combin- 
ing words  in  phrases  and  sentences, 
and  the  like.  Click  on  the  pronuncia- 
tion area  you  want  to  practice  in,  and 
the  drill  window  will  display  a  list  of 
words,  phrases,  or  sentences;  click 
on  any  of  these,  and  the  digitized 
voice  of  a  native  speaker  will  pro- 
nounce them,  singly  or  all  at  once. 
Pronunciation  Tutor  won't  be  all  you'll 
need  to  achieve  a  native  speaker's 
accent,  but  if  you  can  master  the  pro- 
nunciation of  the  words  in  the  pro- 
gram, you'll  have  made  a  good  start 
toward  speaking  the  language  in  a 
way  that  won't  embarrass  you. 

Transparent  Tutor 

Drills  such  as  the  ones  we've  covered 
are  good  for  pumping  up  your  vocab- 
ulary and  brushing  up  your  grammar 
knowledge.  But  the  real  test  of  lan- 
guage ability  is  how  well  you  can  use  it 
in  conversation,  reading,  and  writing. 

If  you  remember  learning  to  read 
with  an  adult  standing  at  your  shoul- 
der and  helping  you  with  the  hard 
parts,  you've  got  the  idea  behind 
Transparent  Language,  a  foreign-lan- 
guage reading  program  whose  philos- 
ophy is  that  you  learn  to  read  not  by 
memorizing  grammar  or  vocabulary 
lists,  but  by  actually  reading.  In 
Transparent  Language,  the  window  in 
the  top  half  of  the  screen  contains  the 
foreign-language  text.  As  you  tab  (or 
click)  the  highlight  from  word  to  word, 
the  five  help  windows  at  the  bottom  of 
the  screen  provide  translations  of 
words,  phrases,  and  clauses,  as  well 
as  further  information  such  as  etymol- 
ogy, case,  and  part  of  speech.  The 
texts  you'll  be  reading  in  Transparent 
Language  won't  be  the  simplified- 
vocabulary  drudgery  of  most  begin- 
ning language  courses,  either.  You 
start  off  with  the  big  guys:  Ovid, 
Hoffman,  Cervantes,  and  their  peers. 
The  idea  is  to  start  you  off  reading 
immediately,  however  badly,  with  the 


ANIMATION  WORKSHOP 


At  last!  An  animation  package  that  is  fun 
and  simple  to  use.  Now  everyone  can 
make  their  own  cartoons. 

The  Hanna-Barbera  Animation  Workshop 
brings  the  power  of  animation  to  your 
computer  in  a  form  that  is  user  friendly. 
Using  a  simple  yet  powerful  Icon  Animation 
System  (IAS),  anyone  can 
quickly  produce  impressive 
animations  just  like 
the  professionals. 


Complete  with 

Hanna-Barbera 

animations 

(The  Flintstones, 

Scooby  Doo,  Yogi  Bear 

&  The  Jetsons),  and 

clip-art  for  you  to  include 

in  your  own  artwork. 

Video  input  capability  that  allows  you  to 

import  hand  drawn  animations  and  still 

backgrounds  by  using  a  camcorder  or 

video  camera  and  a  digitizer.* 

Contains  features  that  the  professional  animator 

couldn't  do  without  such  as  onion-skinning  for 

careful  positioning  of  frames 

and  an  adjustable  exposure 

sheet  so  that  you  can  get  the 

timing  just  right! 


©  1993  Hanna-Barbera  Productions  Inc. 

Licensed  by  Copyright  Promotions  Ltd. 

*  Requires  camera  and  Rombo  digitizer  (not  included). 

Empire  Software.  4  Professional  Drive.  Suite  123,  Jaithersburg,  MD.  20  879. 

Voice  (301)  216  9706.  Fax  (301)  216  0117 

Empire  Software  is  a  registered  trademark  of  Entertainment  International  (UK)  Ltd 


empire 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  162 


safety  net  of  instantly  available  trans- 
lation and  commentary  if  you  want  it 
(and  if  you  don't,  the  translation  win- 
dows can  be  hidden). 

Mindful,  however,  that  many  lan- 
guage students  thrive  on  word  lists 
and  drills,  Transparent  Language's 
version  2.0  has  added  such  features 
as  the  ability  to  create  vocabulary  lists 
as  you  read  and  then  to  print  these 
out  along  with  the  complete  foreign- 
language  text.  The  program  also 
includes  Vocabulus,  a  game  that  drills 
you  on  spelling  skills.  The  Transparent 
Language  core  program  offers  sam- 
ple texts  in  German,  French,  Latin, 
and  Spanish,  but  you  can  purchase 
other  works  on  disk  from  its  catalog. 

Hiring  a  Translator 

For  many  people,  the  ideal  foreign- 
language  program  would  be  one  that 
obviated  the  need  to  actually  learn  the 
language  and,  instead,  simply  did  the 
translation  work  for  them.  While  we're 
still  a  long  way  from  that,  there  are  a 
couple  of  programs  for  the  PC  that 
come  close.  The  Language  Assistant 
series  from  MicroTac  Software  (avail- 
able in  Spanish,  French,  German,  and 
Italian)  and  Power  Translator  2.0  from 
Globalink  are  both  the  sort  of  thing 
you  probably  daydreamed  about  in 


your  high-school  language  classes. 
Both  are  capable  of  translating  from 
English  to  a  foreign  language  and 
vice  versa.  Neither  is  really  a  lan- 
guage-teaching program;  both  are 
designed  for  people  whose  business 
involves  frequent  foreign-language 
contact,  and  both  assume  that  the 
user  has  a  fairly  idiomatic  command 
of  the  target  language.  Although 
beginners  in  a  language  should  stay 
far  away  from  both  of  these  programs, 
more  advanced  students  may  find 
them  to  be  of  help  in  developing  more 
effective  writing  skills. 

Both  Power  Translator  and  Lan- 
guage Assistant  provide  rapid, 
approximate  translations  from  one  lan- 
guage to  another.  Not  being  human, 
neither  of  the  programs  is  especially 
sensitive  to  connotation  or  context; 
they  choose  the  most  common  trans- 
lation for  a  word,  whether  or  not  it's 
appropriate  for  the  context  in  which  it 
appears.  Both  are  also  somewhat 
confused  by  complex  sentences,  so 
the  user's  manual  of  each  application 
advises  you  to  deal  chiefly  in  simple 
sentences.  Once  the  programs  have 
produced  a  rough  translation,  you're 
expected  to  revise  the  translation  to 
make  it  more  natural  and  idiomatic. 

Of  the  two,  Power  Translator  seems 


i/^«   (wo  u~, 

"Look  at  this,  Mr.  Penley.  I've  aged  you  on  the  computer!" 


to  produce  the  smoothest  and  most 
idiomatic  initial  translation— no  doubt 
due  in  part  to  its  impressive  bilingual 
vocabulary  (250,000  words  and  phras- 
es). It  can  translate  text  files  either 
sentence  by  sentence  or  all  at  once. 
But  probably  its  most  attractive  feature 
is  its  ability  to  translate  instantaneous- 
ly. Simply  type  the  word  or  sentence  in 
the  original  language  window  at  the 
top  of  the  screen,  and  in  a  matter  of 
seconds,  you'll  have  a  fairly  approxi- 
mate translation  in  the  bottom  window. 
If  a  word  cannot  be  translated 
because  it's  not  in  the  dictionary  or  if  it 
cannot  be  properly  inflected  in  the 
sentence  as  written,  it's  flagged  in  the 
translation.  During  the  editing  process, 
you  can  change  the  offending  word  in 
the  original  and  retranslate,  or  you  can 
go  into  the  dictionary  later  to  add  the 
definition  or  revise  existing  definitions 
to  meet  your  specifications. 

Language  Assistant  lacks  Power 
Translator's  ability  to  instantly  translate 
typed-in  text;  it  works  solely  from 
imported  text  files  or  files  created  on  its 
own  internal  text  editor.  If  what  you're 
really  after  is  practice  in  learning  to 
write  a  language,  Language  Assistant 
may  be  more  useful  than  Power 
Translator.  It  provides  a  lot  more  online 
help  for  the  writer.  Whereas  Power 
Translator  presents  its  translation  as  a 
fait  accompli  and  gives  little  online 
assistance  in  editing  the  translation, 
Language  Assistant  provides  a  diction- 
ary window.  As  you  tab  the  highlight 
from  word  to  word  in  the  translation 
window,  the  dictionary  window  dis- 
plays alternate  translations  for  the  word 
in  the  original.  And  while  Power 
Translator  suggests  that  your  transla- 
tion is  best  edited  in  your  word  proces- 
sor, Language  Assistant's  internal  text 
editor  lets  you  access  both  the  bilin- 
gual dictionary  and  the  verb  conjuga- 
tor  to  help  in  fine-tuning  your  transla- 
tion. You  can  also  make  both  the  dic- 
tionary and  the  conjugator  memory- 
resident  so  as  to  access  them  in  most 
DOS  word  processors.  The  upshot  of 
this  is  that  while  Power  Translator  will 
produce  smoother,  less  patchy  initial 
translations  of  a  text,  Language 
Assistant  will  actually  come  closer  to 
teaching  you  how  to  think  and  write  in 
a  foreign  language  by  leaving  a  lot  of 
the  vocabulary  and  connotative  choic- 
es up  to  you  and  giving  you  the  help 
you  need  to  make  those  choices. 

Making  precisely  those  choices  is 
the  heart  of  language  use,  and  the 
best  of  the  foreign-language  programs 
recognize  that.  Language  use  is,  after 
all,  a  dynamic  human  enterprise— not 
something  that  a  machine  can  do  for 
you.  As  I  warned  you,  you're  still  going 
to  have  to  use  your  brain.  □ 


102      COMPUTE    MARCH   1994 


m; 


big  sausage!91 

Step  right  up  to  FunHouse™  and  discover  why  this  pinball 

game  was  Williams'  all  time  best  seller.  Once  you  meet  Rudy, 

you'll  understand  why  the  object  of  the  game  is  to  put  him  to 

sleep!  Obnoxious  doesn't  begin  to  describe  him.  His  insults, 

laughter  and  heckling,  egg  you  on  to  victory  through 

a  maze  of  wind  tunnels,  crazy  steps,  trap  doors, 

and  hideouts.  Marvel  at  how  the  innovative 

technology  and  colourful  graphics  of 

AMTEX  recreate  the  sounds  and 

movement  of  the  original  game 

with  stunning  authenticity!  m 


STERY 
URROfc 

'iNEL 


Distributed  By 

Broderbund 


Coming  soon  at  a  suggested  retail  price  of  $49.95 
Circle  Reader  Service  Number  157 


You    can't    get    any    closer    than    this 


^f; 


111  II  IH 


REVIEWS 


CASIO  Z-7000 
TANDY  Z-PDA 

Imagine  a  device  about  the 
same  size  as  your  schedule 
book  that  not  only  lets  you  or- 
ganize your  day,  but  will  al- 
so send  faxes  and  email, 
keep  track  of  your  finances, 
play  games,  and  even  trans- 
late languages.  No,  I'm  not 
talking  about  a  Star  Trek  tri- 
corder  (these  gadgets  won't 
warn  you  if  your  mother-in- 
law  is  actually  a  Klingon) — 
I'm  describing  Casio  and 
Tandy's  new  personal  digital 
assistants  (PDAs). 

Originally  known  as  Zoom- 
ers  (Tandy's  unit  still  says 
Zoomer  on  the  case,  but  Ca- 
sio seems  to  have  dropped 
the  name),  these  devices 
weigh  less  than  a  pound 
and  fit  easily  into  a  jacket 
pocket.  Tandy's  and  Casio's 
offerings  differ  only  in  the 
name  imprinted  on  the 
case— functionally,  they're 
identical,  so  price  and  sup- 
port are  the  primary  consid- 
erations in  choosing  which 
brand  to  buy. 

To  use  the  Zoomer,  you 
flip  its  case  cover  to  the 
back  of  the  unit  and  pop  a 
small  stylus  out  of  a  storage 
compartment  on  the  bottom. 
There's  no  keyboard,  so  all 
input  is  done  by  drawing  di- 
rectly on  the  256  x  320  pix- 
el LCD  screen.  You  can 
print  text  or  draw  pictures; 
text  can  optionally  be  recog- 
nized and  converted  to  AS- 
CII data.  Unlike  Apple's  com- 
peting Newton,  the  Zoomer 
recognizes  only  printing,  not 
cursive  handwriting. 

While  the  Newton  uses  a 
custom  operating  system 
with  a  RISC  processor,  Tan- 
dy and  Casio  chose  an  Intel- 
compatible  chip  and  the 
GeoWbrks  GEOS  multi- 
tasking operating  system. 
The  choice  of  GEOS  may 
make   the    Zoomer    a    bit 


more  intimidating  to  those 
who  haven't  used  comput- 
ers, but  the  familiar  interface 
actually  flattens  the  learning 
curve  for  those  of  us  already 
accustomed  to  PCs.  The  soft- 
ware applications  built  into 
the  machine's  4MB  of  ROM 
include  a  calendar/to-do 
list,  address  book,  calcula- 


transfer  its  data  to  the  full- 
blown desktop  version  of 
Quicken.  Data  and  pro- 
grams are  stored  in  1MB  of 
RAM,  352K  of  which  is  avail- 
able as  a  RAM  disk. 

One  big  advantage  the 
Casio  and  Tandy  PDAs 
have  over  the  Newton  is  bat- 
tery life.  While  Newton  man- 


The  Z-7000  personal  digital  assistant  is  just  the  thing  for  storing 
information  when  you're  on  the  road. 


tor  and  measurements  con- 
version tool,  dictionary,  the- 
saurus, notepad,  a  spelling 
checker,  and  three  games. 
You'll  also  find  some  small 
but  handy  reference  pro- 
grams, such  as  a  1,000- 
word  translator  that  features 
languages  such  as  Serbo- 
Croatian,  as  well  as  listings 
of  U.S.  holidays  and  tele- 
phone area  codes.  Travel- 
ers with  expense  accounts 
will  love  Pocket  Quicken,  a  fi- 
nancial manager  that  can 


ages  about  20  hours  on  a 
set  of  batteries,  these  units 
claim  over  100  hours  life  off 
three  AA  batteries.  After 
over  a  month  of  use,  neither 
unit  I  tested  has  needed  a 
battery  replacement. 

The  Zoomer  has  commu- 
nications capabilities  using 
three  ports:  An  infrared  re- 
ceiver/transmitter for  ex- 
changing data  with  other 
Zoomers,  an  RS-232  serial 
port,  and  a  PCMCIA  2.0  slot 
which  can  accept  a  stan- 


dard or  wireless  credit-card 
modem.  Basic  file  transfer 
software  is  built  in.  There's  al- 
so a  custom  version  of  Amer- 
ica Online  built  into  the 
ROM,  but  it's  limited  to  ac- 
cessing email,  the  PDA  sup- 
port forums,  and  news  serv- 
ices— you  can't  access  gen- 
eral forums. 

Not  that  you'd  want  to  do 
much  more  than  email  with 
a  current-generation  PDA 
like  this  anyway— the  Palm 
Computing  Powerlnk  writing 
recognition  just  doesn't 
lend  itself  well  to  creating 
long  notes.  Apple's  Newton 
recognizes  entire  words  (or 
misrecognizes  them,  which 
can  make  for  some  amusing 
Newton  party  games);  while 
this  is  great  for  creating 
long  notes,  this  dictionary- 
based  method  means  that 
many  proper  names  and 
street  names  are  going  to 
be  recognized  incorrectly. 
Powerlnk  avoids  this  by  at- 
tempting to  recognize  individ- 
ual characters  instead  of  en- 
tire words.  It  does  a  pretty 
good  job— once  I  learned  to 
concentrate  on  printing  neat- 
ly, the  PDA  could  recognize 
about  95  percent  of  the  char- 
acters I  wrote.  When  the 
Zoomer  does  get  a  charac- 
ter wrong,  editing  tools 
make  it  easy  to  correct  your 
mistake.  Nevertheless,  after 
stopping  every  third  word  to 
fix  a  character  when  trying 
to  compose  an  email  reply, 
I  eventually  broke  down  and 
brought  up  the  Zoomer's  on- 
screen keyboard  and 
"typed"  the  letter  using  the 
stylus. 

However,  if  you're  not 
transferring  data  to  your  PC, 
there's  not  necessarily  a  rea- 
son for  having  the  PDA  rec- 
ognize all  of  your  writing. 
(You  can  leave  your  writing 
in  "ink"  form,  with  the  PDA 
storing  it  as  a  graphic  im- 
age.) When  I  create  ad- 
dress book  entries,  I  have 


104 


COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


r 


You're  finished  with 

training...  Had  your 

-    fun  and  games.  Now 

it's  time  to  face  reality 

the  most  sophisticated  aerial  combat  simulation  ever 

jated  for  your  PC— TFX:  Tactical  Fighter  Experiment. 

v^rab  the  controls  of  any  of  three  USAF-spec  flight  models 
and  spread  democracy  over  five  million  square  miles  of 
topographically  accurate  landscape. 


Ocean  of  America 

1B55  O'Toole  Avenue 
San  Johi .-,  C A  95131 
C4Q8)  954  0201 


Suite  DO 02 


TFX  C  1993  Ocean  ol  f 


Equipped  with  ASRAAMs,  Mavericks,  M61s,  laser-guided 
GBUs... you're  fully  loaded  to  tackle  more  than  200  "real- 
world"  campaigns,  based  on  today's  geopolitical  realities. 
And  to  keep  you  sweating  bullets,  from  Somalia  to  Sarajevo, 
the  skies  are  swarming  with  Al-programmed  bogeys  that'll 


make  you  pay  for  your  mistakes. ..with  your  life. 

Log  on  and  engage  in  TFX.  This  time,  youTre  not  just  playing  games. 


«M« 


«p 


&  VsS* 


*••  A« 


REVIEWS 


the  PDA  recognize  the  last 
name,  so  I  can  search  for  it, 
but  I  just  leave  the  rest  of 
the  entry  in  digital  ink  format 
to  avoid  having  to  correct 
misrecognized  numbers  or 
characters. 

Should  there  be  a  PDA  in 
your  future?  Absolutely.  I've 
found  the  Zoomer  to  be  in- 
credibly useful  as  a  person- 
al organizer,  since  features 
like  to-do  prioritization  are  un- 
available in  paper  organiz- 
ers. However,  the  Casio  and 
Tandy  PDAs  represent  the 
first  generation  of  a  new  tech- 
nology, and  as  such  have 
problems  like  imperfect  writ- 
ing recognition  (I  have  yet  to 
get  the  thing  to  recognize  a 
k).  If  you're  not  going  to  use 
the  communication  capabili- 
ties (along  with  AOL,  wire- 
less email  and  paging  are 
on  the  way),  these  PDAs  are 
essentially  more  expensive 
($630  to  $700  street  price)  re- 
placements for  a  $200  Wiz- 
ard or  $30  paper  organizer. 
A  couple  of  months  with  the 
Zoomer  have  convinced  me 
that  the  technology  is  viable 
and  attractive,  but  unless 
you're  a  "gotta  have  it  now" 
technology  nut,  you  might 
be  better  off  waiting  for  the 
next  generation. 

DENNY  ATKIN 

CASIO 

$699.95 

(301)361-5400 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  434 

TANDY 

$699.95 

(817)878-6875 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  435 

CLARISW0RKS 
FOR  WINDOWS 

Although  "works"  packages 
are  often  referred  to  as  inte- 
grated software,  their  com- 
bined applications  usually  op- 
erate independently  of  one 
another,  offering  data  com- 

106         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


patibility  but  little  or  no  true 
integration  of  features.  Cla- 
risWorks  for  Windows,  how- 
ever, defies  this  integration 
misnomer. 

You  can,  for  example, 
draw  a  graphic  in  your  data- 
base reports  or  create  a 
spreadsheet  in  a  word-proc- 
essing document.  You  still 


ClarisWorks  is  your  pro- 
gram; it  allows  you  to  create 
and  edit  objects  without 
even  knowing  what  an  ob- 
ject is. 

With  programs  like  Word 
and  Lotus  1-2-3,  it's  not  un- 
common to  discover  new  fea- 
tures after  months  or  years 
of  use.  Such  complexity  can 


"*  lifaTlF" 


rmnr^n 


ClarisWorks  for  Windows  is  one  of  the  first  works  applications 
where  all  of  the  modules  are  truly  integrated. 


create  files  specific  to  one 
of  four  application  environ- 
ments— word  processor,  da- 
tabase, spreadsheet,  and 
desktop  publishing — but  Cla- 
risWorks1 integration  allows 
you  to  easily  create  and  ed- 
it graphic,  text,  or  spread- 
sheet objects  in  any  kind  of 
document. 

This  is  similar  to  the  Ob- 
ject Linking  and  Embedding 
(OLE  1.0)  capability  of  pro- 
grams like  Microsoft  Works, 
but  it's  better  because  you 
can  edit  ClarisWorks  objects 
in  place.  Editing  with  OLE 
1.0  loads  the  object  and  its 
parent  program  in  a  sepa- 
rate window,  forcing  you  to 
make  changes  outside  your 
main  document.  With  Cla- 
risWorks, you  make  your 
changes  without  ever  leav- 
ing your  document  window. 
If  all  this  sounds  rather  tech- 
nical and  bothersome,  then 


be  intimidating  if  you  don't 
need  it.  Two  advantages  of 
integrated  packages  are 
that  you  don't  pay  for  frills 
and  you  don't  have  to  work 
around  them.  ClarisWorks  is 
a  set  of  essential  productivi- 
ty tools  capable  of  meeting 
most  personal,  academic, 
or  small-business  needs, 
Claris  hasn't  tried  to  reinvent 
the  word  processor,  data- 
base, spreadsheet,  or  desk- 
top publishing  program,  but 
it  has  put  them  together  in  a 
way  that's  more  logical  and 
effective  than  with  similar 
packages.  You  get  an  appro- 
priate set  of  features  with  a 
minimum  of  buttons,  sub- 
menus, and  dialog  boxes. 
This  streamlined  packaging 
results  from  the  omission  of 
many  redundancies  that  larg- 
er programs  offer,  such  as 
having  a  toolbar  button  and 
a  menu  command  that  do 


the  same  thing. 

ClarisWorks  uses  a  true 
WYSIWYG  edit  screen,  elim- 
inating the  need  for  a  print- 
preview  mode.  You  can 
zoom  the  view  from  3  to 
3200  percent,  and  you  can 
edit  your  documents  while 
displaying  margins,  head- 
ers, and  footers.  Other  nota- 
ble features  include  100  func- 
tions to  calculate  or  manipu- 
late data  in  databases  and 
spreadsheets;  a  spelling 
checker  for  all  four  environ- 
ments that  lets  you  easily  cre- 
ate, import,  and  maintain  cus- 
tom dictionaries;  and  a  book- 
mark for  quickly  leafing 
through  records  in  your 
database. 

Next  to  feature  integra- 
tion, ClarisWorks'  graphics 
application  is  what  really 
sets  the  package  apart 
from  other  integrated  pro- 
grams. There  are  seven 
drawing  tools,  with  line  and 
fill  palettes  of  81  colors  and 
64  patterns.  You  can  draw 
lines  of  any  point  size,  with 
or  without  arrowheads,  and 
menu  options  let  you  flip,  ro- 
tate, group,  ungroup,  and 
align  objects  and  text. 
These  and  other  features 
add  up  to  give  you  a  basic 
but  very  capable  structured 
drawing  and  desktop  publish- 
ing program. 

Unfortunately,  there  are 
some  features  missing  that 
even  a  basic  desktop  pub- 
lishing program  shouldn't  be 
without:  text  wrap,  graphic 
cropping,  and  movable 
guides  or  rulers.  With  a  little 
ingenuity,  you  can  compen- 
sate for  the  lack  of  these  fea- 
tures, but  their  absence  can 
be  frustrating,  even  if  you 
do  only  occasional  desktop 
publishing.  There  are  a  few 
other  features  missing  from 
the  package,  such  as  word 
count,  drag-and-drop  text  ed- 
iting, and  special  character 
insertion.  Claris  says  some 
of  these  features  will  be  in- 


WW' 


ii 


• 


or  centuries,  war  h'^ 


brothers,  born  to  mortals,  are  separated  at  birth, 
chosen  for  ihe  ultimate  battle  that  will  decide 
the  fate  of  heaven  and  earth,  They  later 
meet,  never  knowing  their  true  rela- 
tion —  or  their  own  dark  destiny.  Fated 
to  duel  your  twin  to  the  death,  you  must 
fight  to  stay  alive  and  rescue  lovely,  innocent 
maidens  from  the  clutches  of  menacing  foes. 
And  perhaps,  become  the  ruler  of  all. 

So  the  challenge  is  on!  An  incompa- 
rably role  playing  fantasy  game  for 


your  PC,  with  stunning,  hand 

sculpted  graphics  throughout, 

imerous  scripts  and  a  thrilling 

plot  But  be  warned  —  with  its 

^'gluptuous  women  and  intense 

action,  Dragon  Knight  III  is  for 

mature  audiences  only.  And 

■ 

not  for  ihe  faint  hearted. 

Available  now  at  your 

nearest  dealer  or  call 

1-800-258-MEGA. 

Or  write  Megatech, 

RO.  Box  11333, 

Torrance,  CA 

90510.  Visa, 

Mastercard, 

checks  accepted. 


'merits;  286-20  or  taster  machine 
ded)  with  640K  RAM,  hard  disk, 
e  rea*nm«ndejl.  Operating  Sys.:  MS  DOS  3.3 
s  '3.1.  Graphics  compatible  with 
VGA,  Sound  support:  Sound  Blaster,  Sound  Blaster 
rd,  Pro  Audio  Spectrum,  Adlifa  Gold 


\ 


This  game  is  not  for  the  faint-hearted.  Contains  violence 
and  some  material  inappropriate  for  minors  under  18. 


f    For  u  free  demo,  call  our 


■539-7739.  (Ml) 


II  companies  end  product  names  mentioned!  are  trademarks  or  mastered  trademarks  of  the  respective  owne. 

fff/fl    k 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number : 


REVIEWS 


eluded  in  the  next  release. 

Compatibility  should  nev- 
er be  a  problem  with  Cla- 
risWorks.  It  imports  and  ex- 
ports most  popular  file  for- 
mats, though  its  only  export- 
able graphics  formats  are 
Windows  Metafile  and  Macin- 
tosh PICT.  You  can  share 
files  transparently  with  the 
Macintosh  version  of  Cla- 
risWorks  1.0. 

At  less  than  4MB  for  a  full 
installation,  ClarisWorks  is  a 
good  choice  for  a  notebook 
or  laptop.  It's  an  excellent 
program  for  anyone  who 
needs  basic  word-process- 
ing, spreadsheet,  database, 
and  layout  capabilities  with- 
out the  host  of  complex  fea- 
tures that  accompany  expen- 
sive, specialized,  full-blown 
applications. 

PHILLIP  MORGAN 

Claris 

(408)  908-7000 

$249 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  436 


TORNADO 


The  old  infantry  maxim, 
don't  fire  until  you  see  the 
whites  of  their  eyes,  could 
easily  apply  to  pilots  of  the 
Tornado,  Britain's  premier 
low-level  fighter/bomber. 
Words  can't  describe  the 
rush  you'll  feel  clipping  tree- 
tops  at  600  knots  or  leading 
a  six-plane  interdiction 
strike  to  carpet-bomb  a 
weapons  factory  at  400 
feet.  Spectrum  HoloByte  cap- 
tures all  the  strategic  nuanc- 
es and  white-knuckle,  in- 
your-face  action  of  this 
sweep-wing  dynamo  with  Tor- 
nado, one  of  the  most  pol- 
ished combat  flight  simula- 
tions of  recent  years. 

Designed  by  Britain's  Dig- 
ital Integration,  creator  of 
Electronic  Arts'  F-16  Com- 
bat Pilot,  the  simulation  suc- 
cessfully targets  beginning, 
intermediate,  and  advanced 

108         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


combat  pilots.  The  sim  is 
the  first  to  spotlight  the 
Panavia  Tornado,  a  recent 
star  of  Operation  Desert 
Storm,  in  both  its  GR4  Inter- 
dictor/Strike  (IDS)  and  F3  Air 
Defense  Variant  (ADV).  As 
the  plane  is  best  known  for 
its  deadly  efficient  air-to- 
ground  strikes,  the  game  fo- 


Depending  upon  your  rank, 
the  Mission  Planning  screen 
allows  you  to  plot  strategies, 
gather  intelligence  data,  pin- 
point targets,  study  mission 
briefings,  draw  flight  plans 
(way  points  and  air  patrols), 
verify  payloads,  and  view 
weather  maps.  One  particu- 
larly interesting  feature  pro- 


You're  not  in  the  skies  alone  when  flying  Tornado — coordinated 
attacks  are  required  to  win  the  campaign. 


cuses  primarily  on  the  IDS. 

The  program's  extensive 
ground  simulator  and  train- 
ing missions  provide  an  ex- 
ceptional introduction  to  all 
major  flight  control,  naviga- 
tional, and  weapons  sys- 
tems, as  well  as  in-depth  mis- 
sion planning.  In  fact,  the 
game's  thoughtfully  de- 
signed simulation  mode  and 
training  exercises  are  what 
truly  separate  this  product 
from  its  competitors.  While 
other  sims  merely  jettison 
you  into  crippled  versions  of 
actual  missions  or  into  un- 
structured free  flight,  Torna- 
do offers  a  self-paced,  com- 
prehensive program  right 
out  of  RAF  flight  school. 
Here  you'll  learn  everything 
from  loft-bombing  and  foul- 
weather  landings  to  using 
ground-radar  targeting  and 
coordinated  multicraft 

ground  strikes. 

The  game's  Super  VGA 
preflight  interface  is  striking. 


vides  a  3-D,  virtual-reality 
view  of  any  area  of  the  map 
via  a  remote-control  cam- 
era. Explore  objects  at 
close  range  or  rocket  cross- 
country at  800  knots.  Sure, 
it's  pure  fantasy,  but  a  lot  of 
fun. 

The  selection  of  game  op- 
tions is  huge,  offering 
ground  simulations  (20  mis- 
sions), hands-on  training  (10 
missions),  single-player  mis- 
sions (60,  divided  among 
three  different  war  zones), 
multimission  campaigns 
(six,  on  two  skill  levels),  and 
Commander  mode  (three 
full-scale  situations,  with  com- 
plex military  and  political 
strategies).  There's  even  a 
two-player  dogfight  option, 
requiring  either  null  or  re- 
mote modem  links,  support- 
ing up  to  14.4-Kbps  serial 
connections. 

Limited  external  view 
choices  during  air-to-air  dog- 
fighting  make  it  difficult  to 


achieve  visual  sightings, 
even  at  close  range.  Remem- 
ber that  you're  strapped  in- 
to a  heavy  bomber,  not  a 
nimble  fighter,  so  don't  ex- 
pect to  win  many  dogfights. 
The  best  defense  is  to  sim- 
ply hug  the  terrain  and 
avoid  enemy  radar. 

The  game's  biggest  fault 
is  the  needless  complexity 
of  the  in-flight  keyboard  con- 
trols. A  double-sided,  fold- 
out  reference  card  is  provid- 
ed, but  referencing  it  during 
the  heat  of  battle  is  an  awk- 
ward task.  The  key  assign- 
ments aren't  that  difficult  to 
learn,  but  they're  burdened 
with  finger-cramping  combi- 
nations of  Alt,  Ctrl,  and  Shift 
keys.  A  keyboard  overlay 
would  help  tremendously. 

In-flight  graphics  are  strict- 
ly state-of-the-art,  featuring 
excellent  bitmapped  cockpit 
displays,  especially  the  rear- 
seat  weapons  and  naviga- 
tional controls.  Outside 
graphics  are  solid-fill  poly- 
gons—nothing fancy,  just 
clean  and  fast.  The  game 
performs  well  on  any  386 
PC,  and  it  screams  on  a 
486.  All  aircraft,  ground  ve- 
hicles, and  weapons  sys- 
tems are  described  in  detail 
in  the  superb  332-page 
flight  manual. 

Veteran  air-combat  fans 
will  no  doubt  find  fault  with 
the  simulation's  slightly  sim- 
plified flight  model.  Howev- 
er, the  aircraft's  unique  de- 
sign and  specialized  com- 
bat role  should  attract  even 
the  most  jaded  air  warriors. 
Those  new  to  the  genre  will 
find  Tornado  a  combat  sim 
they  can  grow  into,  not  out 
of,  with  a  nearly  flawless 
learning  curve  and  signifi- 
cant long-term  challenges. 

SCOn  A.  MAY 


Spectrum  HoloByte 
(800)  695-4263 
$79.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  437 


Other  Games  May  Talk. 

This  One  Has  a  Voice. 


Star  Trek:  The  Next  Generations 

Patrick  Stewart 


IK 


Lands  of  Lore 


The  Throne  oj  Chaos 


w» 


ith  Patrick  Stewart  as  the  voice  of  King 

Richard,  Lands  of Lor t  has  a  royal  advantage  over 

other  fantasy 

games:  An 

actor  of  real 

authority  in 

a  role  of 

authority,  at 

the  head  of  a 

huge  cast  of 

heroes  and  villains  who  speak,  rant  and  roar 

their  way  through  the  most  vocally  interac- 
tive role-playing 
adventure  yet 
devised.  (A  mam- 
moth 130  1MB  of 
digitized  speech 
makes  it  possible 


The  Dark  Army  is  on  the  move,  led  by  the  shape- 
shifting  sorceress  Scotia — and  each  time  you 
meet  her  she'll  be  more  powerful  and  terrifying 
than  the  last.   But  your  powers  can  grow,  too. 
Experienced-based  character  development  makes 
great  warriors  of  those  who  take  arms  (in  real-time 
combat)  against  a  sea  of  indescribable  monsters 

and  makes  mighty 
wizards  of  those 
who  cast  Larger- 
Than-Life  spells. 
Explore  ancient 
castles,  living 
forests,  hidden  lairs,  bustling  towns,  haunted 
caverns,  through  30  enchanted 
levels  made  vividly  real  by  more 
than  20  MB  of  compressed  art 
and  special  effects. 


Westw 


For  the  PC  CD-ROM 


if- 


LANDS  OF  LORE.  THE  THRONE  Or-  CHAOS  is  a  trademark  ot  Wcsiwood  Studios,  !n<_  V\l)l>4  Weitwood  Studios,  lnt    AN  n^lus  rcterwt  Virgin  is  3  registered  trademark  of  Virgin  Enterprises,  Ltd. 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  106 


REVIEWS 


DESIGNER  4.0 

When  Micrografx  began  re- 
writing Designer,  its  premi- 
um illustration  program,  in 
1991,  it  dominated  the  land 
of  Windows  graphics  soft- 
ware. But  as  the  Ri- 
chardson, Texas,  company 
worked  to  build  a  powerful 
32-bit  graphics  engine  and 
an  efficient  new  user  inter- 
face, a  fearsome  rival  ap- 
peared. The  Windows  mar- 
ketplace was  booming,  and 
Corel  Systems  was  there  to 
capture  a  huge  chunk  of  the 
territory. 

With  the  new  Designer 
4.0  pitted  against  a  phenom- 
enon like  CorelDRAW!  4,  the 
folks  at  Micrografx  seem 
like  Jim  Bowie  and  Davy 
Crockett  at  the  Alamo:  out- 
manned  and  outgunned. 
Compared  to  the  Swiss  Ar- 
my Knife  of  Windows  soft- 
ware, Designer  can't  match 
CorelDRAW!^  640  mega- 
bytes of  clip  art  and  fonts, 
or  features  like  cartoon  ani- 
mation and  multimedia  pres- 
entations. But  Micrografx  be- 
lieves that  graphics  profes- 
sionals, the  customers  who'll 
spend  $700-$800  for  high- 
end  drawing  software,  are 
less  concerned  with  those  ex- 
tras than  with  the  functions 
needed  for  demanding  jobs 
like  technical  illustration  and 
graphic  design.  Designer's 
appeal  comes  from  its  flexi- 
ble user  interface  and  from 
the  power  and  precision  of 
its  core  drawing  and  design- 
ing functions. 

Naturally,  Designer  offers 
the  full  range  of  2-D  graph- 
ics, with  graphic  primitives 
such  as  lines,  polygons, 
curves,  bitmaps,  and  text, 
as  well  as  sophisticated 
warping  and  blending  ef- 
fects for  more  complex  ob- 
jects. Designer  also  sup- 
ports 3-D  shapes,  with  inter- 
active control  over  lighting, 
shading,  and  perspective. 

110        COMPUTE    MARCH  1994 


Advanced  desktop  publish- 
ing and  color  prepress  fea- 
tures give  the  control  need- 
ed for  professional-quality 
output,  and  the  included  24- 
bit  PhotoMagic  program  han- 
dles bitmap  editing. 

Designer's  graphics  en- 
gine resolves  dimensions  as 
small  as  one  micron  or  as 


To  meet  the  challenge,  De- 
signer's interface  uses  a  tool- 
box at  the  left  edge  of  the 
window,  with  buttons  for 
tools  such  as  2-D  drawing, 
text,  and  editing.  Selecting 
a  tool  changes  the  ribbon 
above  the  drawing  window, 
displaying  buttons  for  specif- 
ic operations  like  drawing 


Micrografx  Designer  4.0  is  aimed  at  artists  who  need  precision  for 
technical  illustration  and  graphic  design. 


large  as  several  kilometers; 
it's  precise  enough  for  near- 
ly any  drafting  or  design 
task.  For  the  ultimate  preci- 
sion in  creating  and  modify- 
ing objects,  operations  can 
use  exact  numerical  dimen- 
sions via  the  Coordinate  di- 
alog box,  and  dimensions 
can  use  any  unit  of  measure- 
ment, including  custom-de- 
fined units,  scaled  dimen- 
sions, or  even  nonspatial 
units  like  time  and  tempera- 
ture measurements. 

With  professional  tools, 
common  tasks  should  be 
fast  and  simple,  while  fea- 
tures used  less  often  should 
be  easy  to  locate  and  learn. 


rectangles  and  reshaping 
curves.  But  the  toolbox  is 
customizable.  You  can  add 
buttons  for  common  opera- 
tions to  the  toolbox,  where 
they'll  always  be  available 
with  a  single  click.  Context- 
sensitive  help  aids  in  finding 
new  features,  as  does  a  hint 
line  describing  the  function 
of  the  button,  menu  item,  or 
dialog  box  underneath  the 
mouse  pointer.  Many  opera- 
tions also  offer  interactive 
previews,  while  a  99-level  un- 
do feature  reduces  the  wor- 
ry level  when  trying  some- 
thing new. 

This  isn't  a  program  for 
wimpy  PCs.  My  test  system 


was  no  slouch,  with  a  50- 
MHz  CPU,  8MB  of  RAM, 
and  accelerated  local-bus 
graphics,  but  Designer 
brought  it  to  its  knees  at 
times.  Some  delays  came 
from  CPU-bound  opera- 
tions, particularly  when  for- 
matted text  was  involved, 
but  most  of  the  time  memo- 
ry paging  caused  the  slow- 
down. Designer  is  quite  a 
large  program,  and  though 
Micrografx  lists  4MB  as  the 
minimum  needed,  the  main 
executable  file  alone 
weighs  in  at  a  Texas-sized 
4.8MB.  You'll  find  that  8MB 
is  really  the  bare  minimum, 
and  if  you  plan  on  using  De- 
signer professionally,  16MB 
of  RAM  should  be  part  of 
your  business  plan.  For  deal- 
ing with  complex  Designer  il- 
lustrations, no  PC  is  too  pow- 
erful. But  if  you  have  the 
hardware  to  run  it  well,  De- 
signer is  an  excellent  tool 
for  demanding  illustrators 
and  designers. 

Though  it  can't  match  Co- 
relDRAW!'s  awesome  roster 
of  accessories  and  add- 
ons, Designer  handles  the 
fundamentals  of  drawing 
and  illustrating  with  power 
and  precision. 

TIM  VICTOR 

Micrografx 

(214)  234-1769 

$695 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  438 


GULLIVER 


If  you  need  a  small  nimble 
mouse  for  use  on  the  road 
with  a  laptop  or  on  a  clut- 
tered desk,  Gulliver  could 
be  for  you.  It's  an  unusual 
but  interesting  half-size 
mouse  with  some  nice  soft- 
ware driver  options. 

Gulliver  is  about  half  as 
long  as  most  mice,  and  a  lit- 
tle slimmer  and  lower.  The 
far  edge  slopes  away  like  a 
sports  car  hood  with  the  pri- 


CYBERRRCE  -  R  REVOLUTIONARY  30  COMBRT  RND  RRHNE  SIMULATION  DESIGNED  BY  LUO    .. 
5YD  MERQ,  WHOSE  QE5IBN  CREDITS  INCLUDE  BiRDE  RUNNER,  THON,  2QIQ,  RND  5TRR  TREK:  Jnc  m 
flva.labia  lor  the  ISM  PC  and  Compatibles  Ifiugus!  19931.  Cofnmndnre  Amiga  IMarch  I99M1  and  Apple  Macintosh 
^_.  ,..,u..  „*„,^.™  „l™«  rnntai-t-  Wnrth  America  LBI8)  3MB-3711  '  Europe  [0711  13H-33G7  (U.K.! 


i  please  canlact. 


REVIEWS 


mary  button  across  the  front 
edge,  a  secondary  one  just 
behind  it,  and  a  small  turbo 
button  farther  back  (it's  a 
gain  button  that  toggles  the 
mouse's  speed). 

The  software  driver  for  Win- 
dows includes  a  couple  of 
nice  touches:  You  can 
swap  the  primary  and  secon- 
dary buttons,  and  you  can 
turn  the  mouse  upside 
down  and  use  it  as  a  hand- 
held minitrackball.  With  the 
buttons  on  the  bottom, 
though,  clicking  in  trackball 
mode  is  a  drag.  Another  fea- 
ture lets  you  reprogram 
"north"  so  that  you  can  hold 
the  mouse  at  any  angle 
that's  comfortable. 

The  mouse  has  a  short  ca- 
ble for  use  with  a  laptop;  it  al- 
so includes  a  long  extension 
cable,  a  mouse-port  convert- 
er plug,  and  a  small  soft-sid- 
ed case.  The  Gulliver  pack- 
age includes  a  no-sound  ver- 
sion of  Animated  Desktop,  a 
program  for  creating  and  in- 
stalling regular  or  animated 
icons  and  cursors. 

Gulliver  doesn't  work  well 
on  very  slick  surfaces,  but  it 
works  fine  on  others,  includ- 
ing wood  and  fabric — even 
your  pants  leg.  The  mouse 
tips  forward  if  you  press  on 
the  front  button  too  hard. 
The  cable  could  stand  to  be 
a  bit  more  flexible,  and  dou- 
ble-clicking is  tricky  some- 
times. The  manual  is  a  bit 
too  brief  and  could  be  im- 
proved with  additional  illustra- 
tive graphics. 

In  spite  of  these  small  ob- 
jections, the  Gulliver  mouse 
is  nice  once  you  adjust  to  it. 
You  might  find  that  Gulliver 
makes  your  ergonomic 
mouse  seem  like  a  heavy 
old  clunker. 

J.  BLAKE  LAMBERT 

Appoint 

(800)448-1184 

$99 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  439 

112        COMPUTE    MARCH  1994 


Appoint 's  Gulliver  mouse  is  a  tiny  little  controller  that  will  work  as  a 
mouse  on  almost  any  fiat  surface,  or  as  a  trackball. 


You  must  explore  a  beautifully  rendered  opera  house  to  find  the 
mysterious  lurker  in  Return  of  the  Phantom. 


RETURN  OF  THE 
PHANTOM 

This  Phantom  is  just  too  pret- 
ty to  hide  behind  a  mask.  To 
wander  into  the  grand  foyer 
of  the  opera  house,  or  the 
maddening  slime  green 
maze  below,  is  to  wonder 
whether  you've  somehow 
slipped  out  of  MicroProse's 
Return  of  the  Phantom  and  in- 
to some  luscious  24-bit  im- 


age. No  wonder  Degas  is 
hanging  around  in  here. 

Great  art  is  its  own  ex- 
cuse, of  course,  but  there's 
a  graphic  adventure  here, 
too.  It's  a  rather  good  one 
and  has  character  and 
brains  to  go  with  its  looks.  It 
casts  you  as  a  modern-day 
police  inspector  looking  into 
the  deadly  collapse  of  the  op- 
era's giant  chandelier.  It  will 
shortly  emerge  that  the  phan- 
tom— or  the  opera  ghost,  as 


he's  known — has  been  dis- 
patching threatening  notes 
to  the  game's  principals  and 
he  means  business. 

Phantom  takes  place  whol- 
ly within  the  walls  of  the  op- 
era house  and  its  rather  ex- 
tensive underpinnings. 
While  the  number  of  dis- 
crete locations  may  be  small- 
er than  in  other  adventures 
(and  because  of  this),  you 
learn  the  place's  ins  and 
outs  more  intimately — espe- 
cially since  the  game  sends 
you  drudging  hither  and  thith- 
er through  the  structure  to 
complete  relatively  modest 
tasks.  That  adds  to  the  fun 
later  in  the  game  when 
you're  transported  back 
more  than  100  years  to  the 
same  environs  and  you  get 
to  reinspect  the  same  props 
in  their  youth. 

There's  a  sense  of  being 
very  much  alone  in  your 
search,  to  the  extent  that  it's 
almost  a  relief  to  find  other 
characters.  The  phantom  is 
a  peripheral  figure  at  this 
stage— a  fleeting  glimpse,  a 
shadow,  a  sound  within  the 
walls — and  your  first  face-to- 
face  encounter  with  this  mys- 
tey  figure  will  make  you 
flinch  marvelously. 

You'll  find  yourself  not 
minding  the  long  treks.  The 
interface — menus  of  verbs 
and  nouns  at  the  bottom  of 
the  screen — is  unobtrusive 
and  basic,  and  there's  some- 
thing intelligent  about  the  writ- 
ing that  kept  my  interest. 
Alas,  while  there's  delightful 
organ  music  in  the  game, 
it's  hardly  operatic— an  odd 
lapse,  given  the  subject  mat- 
ter. There's  not  much  in  the 
way  of  sound  effects  be- 
yond the  mouse  squeak  of 
doors. 

The  CD-ROM  version  sup- 
plements the  text  dialogue 
with  digitized  speech 
throughout.  It's  not  the  first 
game  to  add  full  speech, 
but  it's  one  of  the  first  to  do 


4270H    $29.95 
Hardcover 


881855P-XX    $39.95 

Counts  as  2 


S81778P    $27.95 


Hard  Disk 
Management 
with  DOS  5 


881654P    $29.95 


4072H-XX    $39.95 

Counts  as  2/Hardcover 


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of  the  Bulletin,  you  can  return  it  at  our  expense  And  you'll 
be  eligible  for  FREE  BOOKS  through  our  Bonus  Book 
Program.  Your  only  obligation  is  to  purchase  3  more  books 
during  the  next  2  years,  after  which  you  may  cancel  your 
membership  at  any  lima  cmptss* 

All  books  are  sal-caw*r  Uritftt  cahci  mw  noied.  Publishers"  prces.  shown.  If  you  select  a  book  lhai 
counls  as  2  choices.  w!e  The  book  riumbei  m  one  box  and  XX  m  :hs  next.  A  shfipins^andSrit) 
charge  &  sales  tax  wJI  be  endeo  lo  aM  cwdws.   ©1994  CBC 


If  card  is  missing,  write  to: 
The  Computer  Book  Club,  Blue  Ridge  Summit,  PA  17294-0820 


REVIEWS 


it  really  well,  and  the 
speech  invests  the  charac- 
ters with  much  more  person- 
ality than  could  possibly  be 
achieved  in  text  alone. 

PETER  OLAFSON 

MicroProse 

(800)  879-PLAY 

$59.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  440 

THE  AMAZON 
TRAIL 

Imagine  yourself  deep  in 
the  heart  of  the  Amazon 
rain  forest.  Danger  lurks  all 
around  you:  stinging  catfish, 
whirlpools,  disease,  and 
even  headhunters!  An  Incan 
king  desperately  needs 
someone  to  find  some  cin- 


Detailed  graphics  and  3-D  animation  enhance  the  experience  as 
your  child  explores  the  Amazon  Trail. 


chona,  a  medicinal  plant 
used  to  cure  malaria,  and  de- 
liver it  to  the  hidden  city  of 
Vilcabamba.  Can  you  save 
the  king  and  his  people? 


The  Amazon  Trail,  from 
MECC,  is  an  adventure 
game  presented  in  a  fact- 
filled,  educational  format.  In 
this  game  designed  for  ag- 


es 10  and  older,  the  player 
learns  by  exploring  the  vast 
jungles  and  rivers  that 
make  up  the  Amazon  River 
basin.  The  game  aids  in  the 
development  of  reading  com- 
prehension skills  through 
the  use  of  maps,  object  iden- 
tification, and  decision  mak- 
ing. On  your  journey,  you'll 
discover  hundreds  of  facts 
about  South  American  histo- 
ry and  culture,  as  well  as 
the  ancient  Incas.  You'll  also 
meet  some  of  the  actual  in- 
dustrialists, scientists,  and  ex- 
plorers who  left  their  mark 
on  the  Amazon. 

Need  help  identifying  a 
particular  plant  or  animal? 
No  problem.  Just  jump  to 
the  guidebook  feature  from 
anywhere  within  the  game. 
There,  you'll  be  given  cor- 


ORDER  YOUR  LIMITED-EDITION  PENTHOUSE  ONLINE 
9600  DATA/FAX  MODEM  TODAY  AND  SAVE! 


A  CUSTOM,  LIMITED  EDITION  PENTHOUSE 
ONLINE  9600  DATA/FAX  MODEM  FOR  LESS  THAN  $100! 

Penthouse  magazine  has  teamed  up  with  U.S.  Robotics 
to  offer  a  top-grade  9600-bps  data/fax  modem  for  only 
$99.00  +  $6.00  shipping  and  handling  for  the  internal  board 
or  external  model.  These  high-speed  V.32-compatible 
modems  feature  V.42/MNP  2-4  error  control,  V.42bis/MNP  5 
data  compression,  and  throughput  of  up  to  38.4.  The 
external  model  (shown)  has  a  custom,  limited-edition  black 
case  with  the  famous  Penthouse  Key  symbol. 

Features  include  autodial  and  -answer,  frequently  called 
number  storage,  nonvolatile  RAM  (stores  all  modem 
settings),  summary  of  current  modem  setting  display, 
speaker  with  volume  control,  onscreen  call  progress 
reporting,  five-year  parts  and  service  warranty,  an  extensive 
owner's  manual,  and  a  quick-reference  card.  The  internal 
modem  comes  on  a  10-inch  board  that  fits  all  IBM  PC  bus- 
compatible  computers,  and  can  be  addressed  on  COM 
ports  1-4. 


Plus,  you  will  also  receive  the  BLAST®  FAX  PC™  fax 
software,  which  lets  you  send  or  receive  faxes  from  your 
computer.  Compatible  with  all  G3  machines,  BLAST® 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  107 


ORDER 

YOUR 

CUSTOM 

MODEM 

TODAY! 

FAX  PC™  allows  transmission  scheduling,  hot-key  faxing 
from  within  applications,  background  operation,  and  much, 
much  more. 


ALLIE'S  PLAYHOUSE 
MAKES  LEARNING  FUN! 

Your  Child  Will  Love  Allie's  Playhouse.™ 

Written  Iti  conjunction  with  a  team  of  educators  from  both 
the  Montessori  and  Public  School  Systems,  Allie's  Playhouse 
adheres  to  important  early  learning  curriculum  guidelines. 
No  more  of  the  old  computer  "blip"  sounds  and  "robot" 

wo  ices Allie's  Playhouse  fully  utilizes  multimedia-rich 

voices  of  actual  children  as  narrators  and  characters,  CD 
quality  music,  sinning  and 


Children  learn  about  counting; 
with  4  different  activities . 


Mr.  Clack  and  "tJigi"  tench 
children  how  to  tell  time 


A  "multimedia"  coloring  book, 
especially  designed  for  kldft. 


3 

Your  child  will  love  to  learn  and  explore  with  Allie,  the  cute  little  alien  friend 
who  serves  as  the  guide  to  countless  hours  of  valuable  educational  activities. 


i 


Kids  love  to  construct  and  play 

their  own  musical 

"Instrument." 


m& 

fcv> 

^    m 

nnnnnnnnnriDD 

irar™ 

DnnClDDDEIBDElIlD 

Kids  fearn  the  alphabet  arvd 
spelling  and  hear  fetters 
and  words  pronounced. 


Kids  can  play  and  record  their 
own  music. 


Opcode  Interactive™ 

3950  Fabian  Way,  Suite  100 
Palo  Alto.  CA  94303 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  114 


Allie's  Playhouse  is  a  comprehensive  collection  of  16  different 
educational  activities  designed  to  stimulate  young  minds,  including: 

^Math/counting  d  Alphabet  /spelling  d  Anatomy 

■d  Telling  time  d  Astronomy  d  Problem  solving 

id  Geography  d  Music  and  singing  d  Art  and  creativity 

d  Perception  skills  And  much,  much  more. . . 


1 S  nursery  rhyme*  for  klda  to 
join  In  and  king  along  with. 


In  the  kitchen,  klda  build!  sound 
and  object  recognition  skills. 


Kids  team  about  our  solar 

system  and  how  to  identify  the 

planet*. 


To  order 

visit  your 

favorite  software 

dealer  or  call 

Opcode 

Interactive 

at 


A <> v!«n o«  Opcode  Systems  im  «o Cap/nffii  iffll Opcode  tamciiw.  All  ritfui  jbswvkI  aii«'« Ptsytwute « a 
'       ^dOprafclniw^irf.Omes  bnwJ  names  wrtcntiiict  nanwOTirajBinaksuiiii^ediriKtamMteoJ 


A  Windows 
CD-ROM 
Product 


i  ■  ■ 


i 


REVIEWS 


rect  pronunciations,  detailed 
pictures,  and  brief  descrip- 
tions of  the  plants,  animals, 
people,  and  objects  that 
you  find  on  the  trail. 

Detailed  graphics  and  3- 
D  animation  fill  the  screen 
with  lifelike  images  of  peo- 
ple and  villages.  The  ani- 
mals and  birds  come  alive 
in  bright,  radiant  colors  as 
they  move  through  the  jun- 
gle. You'll  hear  the  sounds 
of  the  rain  forest  amazingly 
reproduced  in  the  form  of 
howling  monkeys  and  growl- 
ing leopards. 

The  Amazon  Trail  is  a  su- 
perb educational  program 
that  will  surely  appeal  to  chil- 
dren. Easy  to  play  and  to  un- 
derstand for  any  child 
whose  reading  skills  are  at 
the    fifth-grade    level    or 


If  you  don't  want  to  wait  for  Chicago,  you  can  start  using  an  object- 
oriented  interface  now  with  Third  Dimension. 


above,  this  game  offers  a 
good  balance  of  education 
and  adventure  without  any 


complicated  tasks  to  per- 
form or  frustrating  clues  to 
decipher.  Parents  and  chil- 


dren alike  will  love  this  enter- 
tainingly interesting  offer 
from  MECC. 

ROBERT  STONE 

MECC 

(800)  685-6322 

$59.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  441 

THIRD 
DIMENSION 

Properly  equipped  and  finely 
tuned,  Windows  has  the  pow- 
er and  grace  of  a  Ferrari.  Too 
bad  Microsoft  chose  to  give  it 
an  Edsel  front  end:  Program 
Manager.  Clunky  and  awk- 
ward, Program  Manager  is  so 
widely  disliked  that  it's 
spawned  a  virtual  cottage  in- 
dustry for  replacement  shells. 


Sim  City  2000  Design  Contest 


Maxis  and  COMPUTE  Publications  are  look- 
ing for  the  very  best,  original  cities  designed 
with  the  new  Sim  City  2000  from  Maxis.  All 
winning  cities  will  be  included  on  one  of 
COMPUTE'S  Winning  Cities  Disks.  Each 
winner  will  receive  $50  plus  a  software 
package  from  Maxis  and  a  game  hint  book 
from  COMPUTE.  So  put  on  your  city  man- 
ager's hat  and  design  your  best  cities. 

Interested?  If  so,  read  on; 

Official  Rules 

NO  PURCHASE  NECESSARY 

1 .  Entries  must  be  your  original  work  and  never  have 
been  distributed  by  electronic  means.  All  winners  will  be 
required  to  affirm  this  in  writing. 

2.  Submit  as  many  entries  as  you  want,  but  we  cannot 
consider  cities  which  have  been  distributed  on  disk  or  are 
available  on  any  BBS  or  commercial  telecommunications 
service  such  as  CompuServe  or  America  On-line. 

3.  All  entries  must  be  received  no  later  than  April  1,  1994. 
Print  your  name,  address,  daytime  phone,  and  social 
security  number  along  with  your  disk  to  Sim  City  2000 
Contest,  COMPUTE,  324  West  Wendover  Avenue, 
Greensboro,  NC  27408. 

4.  Entries  must  be  created  with  either  the  MS-DOS  or 
Macintosh  versions  of  Sim  City  2000.  Cities  created  with 
the  original  Sim  City  will  not  be  accepted.  Entries  may  be 
submitted  on  either  a  Macintosh  3-1/2  inch  floppy  disk  or 
a  MS-DOS  3-1/2  inch  or  5-1/4  inch  floppy  disk.  A  sepa- 
rate copy  of  this  entry  form  must  be  submitted  for  each 
city  submitted.  Readable  photocopies  of  this  entry  form 
are  acceptable. 

5.  The  staff  of  COMPUTE  magazine  will  handle  the  judg-        Macintosh  or  DOS  (Circle  one) 


ing.  The  decisions  of  the  judges  is  final  as  to  all  aspects 
of  any  entry,  including  similarity  to  any  entry.  There  will  be 
at  least  five  winners,  but  there  can  be  as  many  as  twenty 
winners  depending  on  the  quality  of  the  entries.  Winners 
will  be  selected  on  the  basis  of  their  originality,  unique- 
ness, complexity,  balance,  general  appeal  and  use  of  the 
new  features  in  Sim  City  2000. 

6.  Winners  will  be  notified  by  mail  by  September  30,  1994. 

7.  The  contest  is  opened  to  residents  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  except  Quebec.  Full-time,  part-time  &  previ- 
ous employees  of  COMPUTE  Publications  International 
Ltd.,  General  Media  International  Ltd.  and  Maxis,  their 
immediate  families  and  their  advertising  agencies,  are 
ineligible  for  the  contest. 

8.  Contestants  must  assign  the  copyright  in  their  entries  to 
COMPUTE  using  the  attached  form.  All  winning  entries 
become  the  property  of  COMPUTE  Publications 
International  Ltd.  Sorry,  we  cannot  return  any  entries. 

9.  The  approximate  value  of  each  of  the  prizes  awarded  is 
as  follows:  software  $50,  hint  book  $15,  and  cash  $50. 

10.  This  contest  is  void  where  prohibited  or  restricted.  All 
winners  will  be  required  to  submit  an  affidavit  of  eligibility, 
including  permission  to  use  winners  name  and  photo  for 
promotional  purposes  without  further  compensation;  fail- 
ure to  return  this  affidavit  within  ten  days  will  forfeit  prizes. 
Neither  COMPUTE  nor  Maxis  is  responsible  for  delayed 
or  misdelivered  mail.  Taxes  are  winners  responsibility.  No 
alternative  prizes  or  cash  equivalents  of  prizes  will  be 
awarded. 

Every  Contestant  Must  Fill  in  and  Sign  This  Form: 

Name  of  Your  City 

Your  Name 

Street 

City,  State,  Zip 


I  hereby  warrant  and  represent,  knowing  thai  COMPUTE 
will  rely  thereon,  thai:  I  have  read,  understand  and  agree 
to  be  bound  by  the  Official  Rules  and  each  term  and  con 
dition  thereof;  that  lhe  city  presented!  on  the  enclosed  disk 
is  my  own  original  work,  has  not  been  submitted  else- 
where nor  made  available  lor  distribution  on  any  BBS. 
commercial  telecommunication  service,  shareware  disk  or 
any  other  general  distribution  whatsoever,  and  that  I  have 
the  sole  right  to  assign  the  copynghl  and  all  other  rights  In 
It  to  you.  I  am  18  years  old  or  older  and  of  lawful  age  to 
sign  ihis  contract  in  my  slate  or  it  I  am  a  minor  my  parent 
or  guardians  consent  is  attached  below. 

ASSIGNMENT  OF  COPYRIGHT 

in  consideration  of  the  opportunity  to  enter  this  contest 
and  win  the  prizes  offered,  I  hereby  sell,  transfer,  assign 
and  convey  (o  Compute  Publications  International,  Ltd.,  ail 
right,  title  and  Interest  I  possess  in  and  to  the  above-titled 
work  (the  "city"),  including,  but  noi  limited  to,  the  copyright 
and  all  renewals  and  extensions  thereof  in  lhe  United 
States  ol  America  and  alt  countries  of  the  world  and  any 
and  ail  claims  or  causes  of  action  whether  asserted  or  not 
relating  thereto. 
SIGNE  D : 

Parental  Consent 

(complete  ihts  section  if  minor  is  named  above] 

I, 


,  hereby  certify  that  I  am  the  parent  or 

legal  guardian  of  the  above- named  person  who  is  a  minor 
below  the  age  of  1 8  and  that  I  ratify  and  consent  to  the 
execution  of  this  entry  form  by  such  minor  and  to  lha  use 
of  his/her  name  and  likeness  for  promotional  and  commer- 
cial purposes  should  he/she  be  selected  as  a  winner. 

SIGNED  BY  PARENT  OR 

GU  A  R  D  FAN:  _^ . 

ADDRESS  IF  DIFFERENT  FROM  ENTRANT:  _ 


Phone_ 


_W 


530 


bytes  Of  REAL  MEDICINE! 

TS  SO  REAL  WE  HAD  TO  PUT  A  CENSOR  ON  IT! 


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OME    MEDICAL    ADVISOR 
PRO 


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Mai!  us  ANY  Medical  CD,  and  get  the  Home  Medical  Advisor  Pro  For  Only  $39.95 


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State-Of-The-Art  Surgical  Procedures 
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The  ONLY  CD  That  Can  Diagnose! 
Low  Cost  Updates  Annually 


i  Over  20,000  Embedded  Hypertext  Links 

■  Complete  Personal  Record  Keeping 

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■  Includes  CPR  &  First  Aid  Video's 

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Introductory  Offer 

$69.95 

SRP  •  $99.95 


~TT 


PIXEL  PERFECT 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  207 


See  Your  Software  Dealer  or  Call  Us  Today   1-800-788-2099 

10460  So.  Tropical  Trail  ■  Merritt  Island,  FL  32952  »  TEL   <407)  -  777  -  0310  ■  FAX    (407)  -  777  -  0323 


Requires:  Windows  3.1,  4Mb  RAM,  CD-ROM 


One  such  product  is  Lucid's 
Third  Dimension,  boasting 
"the  power  of  Windows"  but 
"as  easy  as  a  Mac"  to  use. 

Interestingly,  the  program 
beats  Microsoft  to  the  punch 
with  many  of  the  new  fea- 
tures implemented  in  Win- 
dows 4.0.  Gone  are  Program 
Manager's  rigidly  structured 
program  groupings,  re- 
placed with  more  flexible 
desktop  organizers.  Fash- 
ioned much  like  the  Mac's 
front-end  system,  these  organ- 
izers are  like  customized  fil- 
ing cabinets,  each  able  to 
hold  multiple  sets  of  drawers, 
folders,  and  data  files.  Such 
nested  windows  are  a  great 
boon  to  both  productivity  and 
desktop  organization. 

Third  Dimension's  object- 
oriented  approach  also  re- 
places another  source  of  Win- 
dows frustration:  File  Manag- 
er. Instead  of  navigating  con- 
voluted directory  trees  and 
dealing  with  cryptic  DOS 
commands,  most  mundane 
disk  activity — moving,  copy- 
ing, deleting,  and  even  print- 
ing— can  be  handled  with 


the  simple  drag  and  drop  of 
desktop  icons.  These  and 
other  DOS  functions  can  al- 
so be  performed  in  the 
more  traditional  File  and  Fold- 
er Manager.  This  feature  is 
limited,  however,  lacking 
such  standard  conventions 
as  dual  directory  windows- 
source  and  destination— or 
interactive  dialogue  boxes. 
On  the  bright  side,  the  pro- 
gram breaks  the  eight-char- 
acter filename  barrier,  allow- 
ing descriptive  labels  of  up 
to  127  characters. 

The  product  contains  a 
host  of  integrated  tools  and 
accessories,  including  a  util- 
ity that  backs  up,  restores, 
and  compresses  data  for  se- 
lected files  or  entire  drives. 
A  task  scheduler  lets  you 
run  programs  automatically 
at  startup  or  at  preset  inter- 
vals. Other  standard  fea- 
tures include  a  disk  manag- 
er (which  formats,  copies, 
and  labels),  a  memory  and 
system  resource  monitor, 
password  protection,  a  Mac- 
style  garbage  manager  (de- 
ferred deletion),  and  exten- 


sive online  help.  Unique 
tools  include  a  rudimentary 
icon  animator  and  multiple 
desktop  switcher.  The  pro- 
gram allows  substantial  user 
modifications  of  pull-down 
menus,  pop-up  dialogue  box- 
es, display  fonts,  desktop  col- 
ors, and  file  associations. 

Remarkably,  the  product 
makes  almost  no  attempt  to 
improve  the  aesthetics  of  Pro- 
gram Manager.  In  this  re- 
gard, Lucid's  efforts  lack  the 
visual  innovation  of  such  re- 
placement shells  as  Hewlett- 
Packard's  Dashboard. 

Although  not  a  radical  de- 
parture from  the  status  quo, 
Third  Dimension  is  ideal  for 
anyone  making  the  jump 
from  Mac  to  Windows.  Expe- 
rienced users,  frustrated  by 
Program  Manager  but  not 
particularly  concerned  with 
a  flashy  front  end,  should  al- 
so give  it  a  close  look. 

SCOTT  A.  MAY 


Lucid 

(800)  925-8243 

$89.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  442 


XEROX  4004 

Though  it  prints  at  a  soft-spo- 
ken 46  decibels,  the  Xerox 
4004  ink-jet  printer  practical- 
ly shouts  its  solidness  and  re- 
liability. It  offers  dependable 
service  and  good  print  qual- 
ity at  a  modest  price,  and  its 
three-year  warranty  includes 
toll-free  support  and  a  48- 
hour  exchange  policy. 

The  4004  is  obviously  tar- 
geted at  the  PC-compatible 
market,  with  a  Windows  3.1 
driver  disk  included  and  a 
Centronics  parallel  port  as  its 
only  interface.  For  compatibil- 
ity with  other  programs  and  en- 
vironments, it  emulates  Hewl- 
ett-Packard's DeskJet  500  ink- 
jet  printer.  Most  DOS  pro- 
grams will  be  limited  to  the 
built-in  typefaces:  Courier, 
Gothic,  and  Dutch  (a  propor- 
tional-pitch face  similar  to 
Times),  though  two  slots  at 
the  back  of  the  unit  can  ac- 
cept font  cards  or  RAM 
cards  for  font  downloads. 
That  matters  less  under  Win- 
dows, of  course,  where  the 
full  range  of  TrueType  fonts 

MARCH  1994     COMPUTE         117 


REVIEWS 


are  automatically  supported. 

Like  other  ink-jet  printers, 
the  4004  applies  a  liquid  to 
the  paper,  so  the  paper  gets 
soaked  if  the  page  includes 
large  areas  of  solid  black. 
Even  text  will  smear  if  you 
don't  give  it  a  moment  to  dry 
before  touching  it.  Liquid  ink 
also  tends  to  soak  in  and 
spread  when  it  hits  the  page, 
so  print  quality  varies  with  the 
grade  of  the  paper.  Good  cot- 
ton bond  works  very  well,  but 
it's  costly  for  everyday  use.  Or- 
dinary xerographic  copier  pa- 
per is  acceptable,  but  only 
when  printing  on  the  correct 
side.  (The  two  sides  look  near- 
ly identical  to  the  eye  when 
blank,  but  the  4004  knows 
the  difference;  humans 
should  pay  attention  to  the  ar- 
row on  the  package  pointing 
toward  the  front.) 

Decades  of  photocopier  ex- 
perience have  taught  Xerox  a 
lot  about  paper  handling,  and 
it  shows  in  the  4004's  ultra- 
reliable  sheet  feeder.  It  finally 
jammed  for  the  first  time 
while  printing  a  draft  of  this  re- 
view, but  the  printer  still  earns 
high  marks  in  that  depart- 
ment. A  manual  feed  in  front 
handles  envelopes,  labels, 
and  heavier  paper. 

With  a  printing  speed  of 
about  two  pages  per  minute 
for  straight  text,  the  4004  is  fair- 
ly quick  among  nonlaser  print- 
ers. On  good  paper,  its  300- 
dpi  resolution  delivers  sharp, 
crisp  output,  and  black  areas 
are  always  dark  and  consis- 
tent. At  16  inches  wide  and 
13  inches  deep,  it  might  not 
conserve  desk  space  as  well 
as  some  small-footprint  rivals, 
but  for  moderate  volumes  of 
high-quality  printing,  the  Xer- 
ox 4004  is  an  affordable  desk- 
top workhorse. 

TIM  VICTOR 

Xerox 

(800)  ASK-XEROX 

$299  (estimated  street  price) 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  443 

118         COMPUTE    MARCH  1994 


The  Xerox  4004  Inkjet  printer  delivers  sharp,  crisp  output  that's 
perfect  for  many  home  office  requirements. 


J*A 


file    Edit    Select    fiecords    Assistant    jjelp 


MIbIbI  Mm  faT 


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Joined  Apr  22,  1993 


LastMalling  Sep  4. 1993 


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Q&A  for  Windows  includes  a  good  flat-file  database  as  well  as  a 
nice  mid-range  word  processor 


Q&A  4.0  FOR 
WINDOWS 

Q&A  4.0  for  Windows  in- 
cludes a  database  manager 
and  a  word  processor  and 
is  aimed  at  the  needs  of  in- 
dividuals and  small  business- 
es. It's  designed  to  be  easy 
to  use,  but  it's  still  a  power- 
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guess,  the  two  programs  to- 
gether are  particularly  adept 
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Early  DOS  versions  of 
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in  questions  using  ordinary 
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Windows  version  requires 
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but  helps  you  build  the  phras- 
es as  you  go. 

Queries  end  up  being  fair- 
ly normal  sentence-like  con- 
structions such  as  find  the  re- 
cords where  ZIP  begins  with 
"274"  and  the  LastMailing  is 
before  10/1/93  sorted  by 
ZIP.  This  is  often  easier 
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quests into  a  script. 

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Microsoft  Golf  54.00 

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Sensual 
Products 


How  to  order  them 
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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  105 


REVEWS 


to  be  a  relational  database  and  has  no 
procedural  programming  language,  it 
still  has  plenty  of  programmability.  For 
example,  navigational  programming 
lets  you  define  how  the  cursor  moves 
from  field  to  field  on  a  form — including 
conditional  jumps. 

An  excellent  database  structure  ta- 
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tings for  each  field's  name,  type  (includ- 
ing graphics),  format,  restrictions,  index- 
ing, initial  value,  custom  help,  program- 
ming (using  spreadsheetlike  @  func- 
tions) and  masking.  You  can  even  use 
another  database  as  a  lookup  table. 
Q&A  also  makes  it  easy  to 
perform  mass  updates  and  deletes. 

Q&A  provides  good  networking  and 
security  features.  It  offers  concurrent  ac- 
cess among  multiple  users  with  record 
locking  and  automatic  screen  refresh 
to  protect  the  data  from  corruption. 

Q&A  Write  is  a  good  midrange 
word  processor.  It's  highly  customiza- 
ble, it  has  a  nice  thesaurus  and  spell- 
ing checker,  and  it  has  hyphenation, 
text  and  graphic  frames,  document 
statistics,  send  fax  and  mail  options,  a 
table  generator,  OLE/DDE  support, 
and  an  outliner. 

If  you're  looking  for  a  good  flat-file  da- 
tabase and  word  processor  with  easy 
mail-merge  capabilities  at  a  reasona- 
ble price,  Q&A  fills  the  bill. 

J.  BLAKE  LAMBERT 


Symantec 

(800) 441-7234 

$249.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  444 


D00DLE-MATI0N 

What  do  you  get  when  you  combine 
pen,  paper,  and  a  wandering  imagina- 
tion? Doodles,  of  course.  That  almost 
subconscious  art  form  practiced  daily 
by  millions  of  people — on  napkins, 
phone  books,  or  whatever  happens  to 
be  handy.  More  than  just  errant  scrib- 
bling, doodling  can  be  both  creative 
and  therapeutic.  Now  doodle-starved 
Windows  users  have  an  artistic  outlet 
with  Doodle-mation,  Screen  Magic's  en- 
gaging new  software  toy. 

The  product  is  essentially  a  high- 
tech  melding  of  two  venerable  child- 
hood favorites,  Etch  A  Sketch  and  Spiro- 
graph. The  major  differences,  of 
course,  are  its  brilliant  VGA  graphics 
(compatible  with  16  colors,  but  256  col- 
ors are  preferred)  and  stunning  comput- 
er-assisted animation.  The  creation 
process  is  remarkably  easy:  Place  one 
or  more  geometric  shapes  on  the  doo- 
dle canvas,  and  define  a  movement 


path,  shape  behavior,  and  color 
scheme.  Then  hit  the  Go  button  and 
watch  your  creation  burst  to  life.  The 
12  preset  shapes  are  completely  scal- 
able, allowing  you  to  bend,  stretch, 
and  shrink  them  to  create  new  curves 
and  angles.  Movement  paths  are  also 
quite  versatile,  including  stationary, 
straight,  circular,  spiral,  bounce,  and 
magnetic  (attracted  to  the  mouse  point- 


Doodle-mation  provides  both  a  time  killer 
and  a  screen  saver  in  one  package. 

er).  You  can  even  draw  freehand 
paths  for  the  shapes  to  follow. 

Behavior  controls  give  your  doodles 
animated  pizazz — both  beautiful  and  bi- 
zarre— as  they  hum  along  their  merry 
paths.  User-defined  effects  include  an- 
imation speed,  rotation,  growth,  and 
spacing  between  shapes.  Much  of  the 
fun  is  simply  experimenting  with  differ- 
ent combinations  of  object  shapes, 
paths,  and  animation  techniques.  Even 
more  stunning  effects  can  be  found  in 
the  color  control  panel,  featuring  two 
styles  of  color  mixing  (blend  and 
sheen)  and  color  cycling  (backwave 
and  Vegas).  Other  options  include  back- 
ground, shape  outline,  and  fill  colors. 
Turn  the  color  fill  to  transparent  and 
change  solid  shapes  to  wireframe.  All 
behavior  and  color  settings  can  be  ad- 
justed on  the  fly. 

Did  you  devise  the  ultimate  doodle 
art?  Save  your  creation  to  disk  (with  all 
settings  intact)  or  convert  it  into  a  Win- 
dows screen  saver.  A  built-in  screen 
capture  utility  also  lets  you  save  snap- 
shots of  doodle  screens  as  bitmap 
graphics,  for  gallery  viewing  or  use  as 
Windows  wallpaper. 

Though  well  designed,  the  program 
has  a  few  limitations  and  missing  fea- 
tures that  merit  serious  consideration 
for  a  sequel.  Most  obvious  is  the  lack 
of  a  stay-on-top,  resizable  doodle  pad. 
As  is,  the  program  demands  your  full  at- 
tention and  occupies  nothing  less 
than  a  full-screen  window.  Doodling, 
by  definition,  is  a  multitasking  activity, 
usually  done  while  preoccupied  with 
something  else.  Another  curious  over- 
sight; You're  allowed  only  one  doodle 
screen  saver  at  a  time. 


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Quest 
for  tfje 


ometoa  place 
and  unspoiled  I 
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but  their  lej  acy  remains.  Accompai 
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t  1 99i  New  World  {Wading.  Inc.  InKeril  #w  Earth  i»  o  trade*  of*  °"^  ™°T 
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creation 


REVEWS 


Fast,  fun,  and  completely 
frivolous,  Doodle-mation  is  a 
nearly  perfect  definition  of 
software  toy.  With  the  help 
of  your  computer's  32-bit 
brain,  stream  of  conscious- 
ness artwork  has  never 
looked  so  good. 

SCOTT  A.  MAY 


Screen  Magic 

Distributed  by  Maxis 

(510)  254-9700 

$29.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  445 


FRONT  PAGE 
SPORTS: 
FOOTBALL  PRO 

The  best  don't  stay  on  top 
by  resting  on  their  laurels, 
as  is  proved  by  Dynamix 
with  the  Pro  edition  of  its  crit- 
ically acclaimed  football  sim- 
ulation. The  reigning  sports 
champ  continues  to  blow 
away  the  competition  with 
this  terrific  update  to  an  al- 
ready great  game. 

Those  unfamiliar  with  this 
groundbreaking  game 

should  prepare  to  be  daz- 
zled. The  program's  long  list 
of  features  begins  with  real- 
time gridiron  action,  rendered 
in  fluid  rotoscoped  animation, 
viewed  from  ten  playable  cam- 
era angles.  Take  hands-on 
control  of  the  action,  or  work 
the  sidelines  as  head  coach, 
armed  with  more  than  1000 
stock  plays.  You  can  also  de- 
sign your  own  with  the  point- 
and-shoot  playbook  editor, 
complete  with  on-field  prac- 
tice and  fascinating  logic-box 
programming  mode.  If  num- 
ber crunching's  your  game, 
take  on  the  responsibilities  of 
team  owner  and  general  man- 
ager. Dig  as  deeply  into  the 
details  as  you  desire,  includ- 
ing drafting,  trading,  training 
camp,  substitutions,  injuries,  re- 
tirement, free  agents,  and 
more  than  300  league,  team, 

122        COMPUTE    MARCH  1994 


Front  Page  Sports:  Football  Pro  takes  the  classic  gridiron  game  and 
beefs  it  up  with  real  NFL  rosters  and  other  improvements. 


and  individual  stat  categories. 

New  additions  and  improve- 
ments to  the  game  are  plenti- 
ful, starting  with  actual  NFL 
teams  and  player  rosters. 
About  the  only  things  not  cov- 
ered in  Dynamix's  licensing 
agreement  are  a  handful  of 
new  free  agents,  team  logos, 
coaches'  names,  and  nick- 
names—hence, you  must  man- 
ually change  the  generic  en- 
tries for  the  Buffalo  Bulls,  Kan- 
sas City  Warriors,  Indianapo- 
lis Mustangs,  and  so  on.  You 
can  also  build  your  own 
league  from  scratch,  with  up 
to  28  teams  and  1400  play- 
ers, user-defined  right  down 
to  uniform  colors. 

On-field  changes  include 
several  exciting  new  player 
animations,  such  as  leaping 
catches,  spins,  and  flipping 
tackles.  Realtime  transitions 
between  TV-style  camera  an- 
gles are  much  smoother,  in- 
cluding an  excellent  blimp 
view  with  an  adjustable 
zoom  lens.  The  completely 
revamped  Playbook  section 
includes  a  new  computer 
coaching  profile  editor,  allow- 
ing you  to  develop  intelli- 
gent strategies  for  more 
than  2500  offensive  and  de- 
fensive situations.  The  pro- 
gram now  also  produces 


graphic  printouts  of  your  en- 
tire playbook.  Be  warned: 
Printing  more  than  1000 
stock  plays  is  a  laborious, 
time-consuming  task.  The  re- 
sults, however,  are  well 
worth  the  trouble. 

Other  excellent  new  fea- 
tures include  the  ability  to 
play  5-,  10-,  or  15-minute 
quarters;  a  choice  between 
standard  and  fast  computer 
simulations;  computer-gener- 
ated All-Star  pro  games; 
and  comprehensive  career 
stats  and  player  aging. 
Some  of  the  most  significant 
changes  to  the  game  aren't 
immediately  apparent,  such 
as  the  computer's  vastly  im- 
proved artificial  intelligence. 
Those  who  find  the  original 
a  little  too  soft  around  the 
edges  will  be  pleased  to 
face  stiff,  hard-hitting  compe- 
tition. About  the  only  thing 
that  remains  on  my  wish  list 
is  user-defined  audibles. 

Simply  put,  Front  Page 
Sports:  Football  Pro  is  truly  a 
masterwork  of  design,  func- 
tion, and  long-term  payability. 

SCOTT  A.  MAY 


Dynamix 
(800)  326-6654 
$59.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  446 


TOM  LANDRY 
STRATEGY 
FOOTBALL 
DELUXE  EDITION 

Merit  Software  drafts  anoth- 
er winner  with  the  deluxe  edi- 
tion of  last  year's  popular 
Tom  Landry  Strategy  Foot- 
ball. Designer  Kerry  Batts  de- 
livers a  host  of  new  features 
while  retaining  the  original's 
proven  appeal.  The  result- 
ing game  is  indeed  "better 
than  ever,"  as  the  packag- 
ing proclaims,  yet  still  slight- 
ly short  of  its  goal. 

Ail  of  the  original  game's 
major  virtues  remain  intact 
and  in  many  cases  are  no- 
ticeably enhanced:  one-  or 
two-player  coaching 

modes,  null  and  remote  mo- 
dem play,  optional  arcade- 
style  graphics,  digitized  ref- 
eree and  play  commentar- 
ies, printable  stats,  and  ab- 
solutely the  best  mouse-driv- 
en interface  in  the  genre.  Oth- 
er features  held  over  in- 
clude in-depth  team  ratings, 
scouting,  injuries  and  fa- 
tigue, substitutions,  variable 
coaching  styles,  and  a  what- 
if  scenario  builder. 

The  two  most  important  ad- 
ditions to  the  deluxe  version 
are  a  comprehensive 
league  editor  and  a  full  16- 
game  season  with  wildcard 
rounds,  division  playoffs, 
and  a  championship  game 
(called  the  Landry  Bowl). 
The  league  editor  makes  up 
for  the  game's  lack  of  real 
NFL  franchise  teams  and 
players.  The  program  de- 
faults to  generic  teams  mod- 
eled from  1992  pro  season 
stats,  but  can  now  easily  be 
modified  to  reflect  real-life 
gridiron  heroes.  With  a  little 
research  and  minimal  on- 
screen effort,  you  can  up- 
date rosters  and  player  attrib- 
utes to  '93  standings  or  cre- 
ate a  fantasy  league  of  com- 


Lowest  delivered  prices  with  great customer service.   ffi&  BcJ8  %\ 


DISK-COUNT 
SOFTWARE 


VISA 


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:   COMfUTtB  I 

:•   MONTHLY   y 

t  RCADCR'B  J: 

CHOICE: 


CD  ROM 


All  our  CD  s  are  in  PULL  retail  packaging,    including 
manuals  and  registration.  We  DO  NOT  sell  OEM  products. 


3D  Body 
3D  Dinosaur 
Aegis  Guardian 
Aesops  Fables 
Aladdin  Lamp 
Alone  in  the  Dark 


5& 

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33 
33s5 
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Amer  Bus.  Phnbk.  39 
Arthur  Teacher  Trbl  4 1 
Autodesk  Explorer  119 
B-17  32* 


Hi  Tech  Aircraft 
Humans  25* 

Inca  35* 

Indiana  Jones  39* 
Inspector  Gadget  37* 
Interactive  Old  Test  52 
Iron  Helix  59* 

Its  a  Wonderful  Life  48 


Race  the  Clock  32*^ 
Rebel  Assault  45* 
Return  of  Phantom33* 
Return  to  Zork  45* 
Rolor/Airball/Time  25 
San  Diego  Zoo  49 
Scrabble  Deluxe  26 
Science  Advntr  II  47* 


Barney  Bear  Goes  JFK  Assassination37* 

to  School  1 9  Jones  in  Fast  Lane  37 

into  Space  1 9  JuSt  Grandma  &  Me36 

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Beauty  &  Beast       49  Kjd  Works  36* 

Beethoven  Ninth     59  K|d  Zoo  52* 

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Jets  &  Props  55    Seven  Days  in  Aug39* 


105 
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57 
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French 

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Beyond  the  Wall 
Bloodnet 
Blue  Force 
Buzz  Aldrin  Race 
Carmen  World  Dlxe65 
Cautious  Condor     45 
C  D  Speedway 
Chess  Maniac 
Christmas  Carol 
City  2000 
Clipart  Goliath 
Comanche 

Compton  Ency  Up899 
Conan  Cimenon  36 
Creative  Kids  36* 
Curse  of  Enchantia25* 
Cyberspace  40* 
Dagger  Amon  Ra  39* 
Dark  Sun  49* 

Dealhslar  Arcade  1 5 
Dictionaries  &  Lang  1 5 
Dracula  Unleashd  49* 
Dune  45K 

Dungeon  Hack  37* 
Eco-Quest  42 

Education  Master  32 
Elect.  Home  Library49 
Encarta  Encyclpd249* 
Eric  Unready  19* 
Eye  Beholder  Tril  54* 


F-15 
F-117A 
Family  Doctor 
Fatty  Bear 
Four  Queen  Cas 
G  Force 
Gabriel  Knight 
Gateway  II 

Geekwad  Games  22* 
Gettysburg:MM  Hist43 
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G  unship  2000 
Guy  Spy 


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Sound  Cards 


ati  btereo  r/x  ,-.139 
StereoF/X  CD;  147^- 

Covox  Voice  81s* 

Gravis  Ultra  Sound  129: 
CD-ROM  Kit      298^ 

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Pro  Audio  16  179** 
Pro  Audio:  Stucfio  209": 
Pro  Movie  Audio  339",: 
Logitech  Audioport  134 


Soundman 
Sound  Blaster 
SB  Midi  Kit 

SB  Pro  MCA 
SB  16  Basic 
SB16MCD 
SB  16  MCO  ASP  189* 
SB  16  SCSI  174* 
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SB  Discovery  16  I  459 
SBEdutanmnt:t6  549« 
SB  Omni  Drive    314* 


132* 
85 
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259 
128* 
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Jones  in  Fast  Lane  37 
Just  Grandma  &  Me36 
Jutland  44* 

Kid  Works  369 

Kid  Zoo  52* 

King  Quest  6  Upg  26* 
Labyrinth  of  time  49* 
Land  Of  Lore  34* 
Languages  of  World99 
Learn  to  Speak  Spn59 
Legend  Kyrandia  39* 
Leisure  Suit  Larry  37 
Lenny  Music  Toon30* 
Libry  of  Art:Renaisn65 


Loom 
Lord  of  Ring 
Lost  in  Time 
Lost  Treasure  I 
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Seventh  Guest  "49* 
Sherlock  Holmes  39 
Sherlock  Holmes  2  42 
Sherlock  Holmes  3  49 
Shuttle  (Virgin)  24* 
Sleeping  Beauty  37 
Sound  it  out  Loud  30* 
Sound  Works  35 
Space  Quest  4  37 
Space  Shuttle  29* 
Spellcasting  Party  29* 
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Star  Trek  Collect  39* 
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Stellar  7  30 

Strange  Deadfellow  39 
Street  Atlas  89* 

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Super  VGA  Harrier  47 
Talking  Classic  Tale75 


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Man  Enough 
Manhole 
Maniac  Mansn  2 
Mantis 

Mario  is  Missing 
Mars  Explorer 
Math  Blaster 
Mavis  Beacon 
Mayo  Clinic 


45* 

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Dinosaurs 

Encarta  '94 

Golf 

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Monkey  Island  39 
MM  Music:  Mozart  33 
MM  Music:  Vivaldi  33 
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Oregon  Trail  45* 
Penthouse  Interact79* 
Peter  &  Wolf  45 

PhonDisc  59* 

Pool  Shark  19* 

Prcision  Map  84* 
Private  Eye  Myst  37* 
Prolostar  39* 

Putt  Putt  Fun  Pak  31* 

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Parade  37* 

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CS-550  Shielded     35 
w/3band  Equilizer45 
CS-800  :     49*; 

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ACS300  299 

lidiator  101  Serial 
PC  Midi  Card  79 

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The  Miracle  325 


Time  Table  Science59 
Tony  LaRussa  51r 
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Tortoise  &  Hare 
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Ultimate  Shareware  59 
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USA  Seen  w/ATP  67* 
USA  Wars:Civil  War49 
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Virtual  Murdr  Myst  39* 
Who  Killd  Sam  Rup  25 
Willy  Beamish  37 
Win  CD  32 

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World  of  Trains  29 
World  of  Xeen  41* 
World  War  II  Pak  37* 
Adults  Only-  21  Yrs. 
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Erotic  Encounters  29* 
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Seedy  Vol  1 -7  ea.  29* 
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Caddies  $6.00  ea. 


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Jammer  Pro  125 

Laser  Music  Proces79 
Master  Tracks  Pro  249 
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Midiscan  269* 

Midisoft  Studio  159 
Music  Bytes  Vol  1  65 
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Quick  Score  Deluxe99 
Songwright  5  89* 
Trax  for  windows    60 


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Amazon  Trail  3495 
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Animal  Adventure  47* 
Bailey's  Bookhouse29* 
Body  Illustrated  47* 
Bodyworks  42 

Chemistry  Works  38 
Children  Writ  &  Publ  39 
Computer  Works  46* 
Cuckoo  Zoo  31* 

Dinosaur  Adventure34 
Discovering  Amer  35* 
Dr.  Quandry  31 

Dyno  Quest  26* 

Eagle  Eye  Mystery  31* 
Eagle  Eye  London31* 
Eco-Quest  2  29* 
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Sam  Spy  Teddy  Br  17 
Hanna  Barb  Anim  42* 
Health  &  Diet  Pro  26 
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Kids  Zoo  33* 

Mario  is  Missing  35* 
Mario  Teach  Type  25 
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Math  Blaster  Myst  29* 

Search  of  Spot  35* 
Math  Magic  26* 

Math  Rabbit  29* 

Mathology  29* 

Mavis  Beacon  29* 
Mental  Math  Games  37 
Midnight  Rescue  35 
Millies  Math  House  31 
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Money/Clocks  Wrk  19 
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Orbits  29* 

Oregon  Trail  Delx  34* 
Outnumbered  30 
Peppers  Adventure  299 
Peter  Pan  31* 

Playroom  2.0  30* 
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Reading  Adv  in  Oz  36 
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CD  DRIVES 


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Multimedia 


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CH  Game  Card  3 
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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  208 


REVIEWS 


pletely  original  teams.  Sea- 
son play  also  corrects  a  ma- 
jor oversight  in  the  design  of 
the  original  game.  The  pro- 
gram does  an  admirable  job 
of  maintaining  team  and  in- 
dividual stats,  from  current 
game  totals  and  averages 
to  league  leaders  and  sea- 
son standings. 

Still  missing  is  a  playbook 
editor,  by  now  standard  is- 
sue on  all  topnotch  football 
simulations.  This  is  a  highly 
questionable  oversight,  par- 
ticularly for  a  game  whose 
main  focus  is  the  art  of 
coaching.  That  said,  the  se- 
lection of  preset  plays  and 
formations  remains  impres- 
sive. In  fact,  Landry's  play- 
book  has  now  grown  to  in- 
clude exciting  new  offensive 
formations  such  as  the  Pro-I 
(right  or  left),  Blue,  Shotgun 
with  Four  Wide  Receivers, 
and  Trips.  New  plays  in- 
clude shuffle  passes  and 
hook-and-go  receiver 

routes.  The  most  profound 
addition  to  defense  is  the 
ability  to  pick  which  of  your 
four  linebackers  or  safety  to 
blitz.  Other  options,  such  as 
backfield  motion,  hot  receiv- 
ers, double  teaming,  and 
line  shifts  help  turn  several 
dozen  plays  into  thousands 
of  strategic  variations. 

Landry  Deluxe  proves  a 
solid  second  effort,  although 
fans  hoping  for  a  major  revi- 
sion may  be  slightly  disap- 
pointed. By  not  taking  the 
game  its  full  distance,  Batts 
essentially  calls  the  same 
play  twice,  gaining  a  little  ex- 
tra yardage  but  falling  short 
of  the  big  score.  If  you  liked 
the  first  release,  though, 
you'll  probably  enjoy  tack- 
ling the  new  features  of  this 
updated  version. 

SCOTT  A.  MAY 

Merit  Software 

(214)385-2353 

$49.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  447 

124         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


NFL  COACHES 
CLUB  FOOTBALL 

As  any  of  us  die-hard  gridi- 
ron fans  will  tell  you,  there 
can  never  be  enough  profes- 
sional football.  In  fact,  leave 
it  to  us,  and  NFL  players 
would  be  pounding  the  turf 


10,  or  15  minutes  (exhibition 
games  only),  coaching  or  ac- 
tion mode,  two  skill  levels, 
and  controller  type  (mouse, 
joystick,  or  keyboard).  If  you 
only  want  to  manage  your 
team,  you  can  stage  com- 
pletely computer-controlled 
games.  A  special  coaching 
menu  allows  you  to  edit  play- 


NFL  Coaches  Club  Football  is  the  only  recent  game  to  feature  full 
NFL  licensing  of  teams,  players,  and  logos. 


at  least  1 1  months  out  of  the 
year.  By  the  same  token,  for 
hard-core  computer  football 
fans,  there's  always  room  on 
the  roster  for  another  pig- 
skin simulation — especially 
one  as  well  designed  as  Mi- 
croProse's  NFL  Coaches 
Club  Football.  Designed  by 
Ed  Fletcher  and  Doug 
Whatley,  the  game  is  the  on- 
ly major  new  contender  in 
the  genre  to  feature  full  NFL 
licensing:  teams,  players, 
coaches,  logos,  and  colors. 
All  teams  feature  actual 
1993  rosters,  with  projected 
strengths  and  weaknesses 
(based  on  1992  stats)  of  all 
the  coaches  and  players. 

One  or  two  players  can 
compete  in  either  single  ex- 
hibition games  or  full 
league  schedules,  culminat- 
ing in  wildcard  matches,  di- 
visional playoffs,  and  the  Su- 
per Bowl.  Other  play  options 
include  quarter  lengths  of  5, 


calling  tendencies  in  more 
than  a  dozen  common  sce- 
narios. For  those  who  love 
percentages  and  probabili- 
ties, you  can  even  assign 
the  same  head  coach  to 
two  different  teams  and 
then  study  the  effect  on  over- 
all team  performance. 

League  play  follows  the  re- 
al-life NFL  1993  schedules, 
although  you  can  easily  cre- 
ate your  own  schedules  as 
well.  Games  for  both  player- 
controlled  and  nonplayer 
teams  can  be  automatically 
simulated  by  the  computer. 
Unfortunately,  there's  no  op- 
tion for  quick  resolution,  so 
depending  on  your  CPU 
speed,  expect  to  spend 
from  15  minutes  to  more 
than  an  hour  waiting  for  the 
computer  to  generate  game 
results.  There  is  a  fascinat- 
ing work-around  to  this  quan- 
dary; Simulated  games  can 
be  halted  and  resumed  with- 


out losing  the  data  already 
generated.  In  fact,  it's  possi- 
ble to  simulate  only  portions 
of  a  single  game  and  then 
manually  take  over  as  head 
coach  or  player. 

On-field  graphics  are  ex- 
ceptional, featuring  unlimit- 
ed 3-D  views  of  the  action. 
Preset  camera  angles  can 
be  quickly  toggled;  they  in- 
clude offensive,  defensive, 
sideline,  coaching,  press 
box,  blimp,  and  ground-lev- 
el views.  You  can  also  man- 
ually rotate  and  zoom  from 
any  of  the  above  angles,  sav- 
ing up  to  two  user-defined 
views.  The  closer  you  get  to 
the  action,  the  more  de- 
tailed the  graphics  become, 
featuring  a  stunning  combi- 
nation of  ray  tracing  and  ro- 
toscoped  animation.  The 
trade-off,  of  course,  is 
speed.  Closeup  views  may 
look  great,  but  they're  virtu- 
ally unplayable  in  terms  of 
reading  the  opposition  or 
scanning  the  open  field. 
Five  levels  of  detail  allow 
those  with  slower  machines 
to  trade  realism  for  more  flu- 
id animation. 

The  playbook  editor  al- 
lows you  to  create  new 
plays  from  scratch  or  to  mod- 
ify the  built-in  collection  of 
80  offensive  and  80  defen- 
sive plays.  Among  the  many 
offensive  factors  under  your 
control  are  formations,  time 
delays,  line  blocking,  pass 
routes,  hand-offs,  pitchouts, 
motion,  fakes,  and  timed 
pass  patterns.  On  defense, 
options  include  timed  de- 
lays (useful  for  safety  blitz- 
es), pursuit,  double-team- 
ing, bumping  receivers,  and 
zone  and  man-to-man  cover- 
age. With  menu-driven  op- 
tions and  a  point-and-click 
graphic  interface,  play  de- 
sign is  a  snap.  You  can  also 
practice  a  new  play  against 
any  defense.  Use  the  VCR- 
style  instant  replay  and  mul- 
tiple camera  angles  to  dis- 


Hear  voices  from  the  past 


I 


Piloting  the  U.SiS. 
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You'll  test  your  intergalactic  prohlem-solving  savvy 
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alien  worlds  —  with  light  years  of  action  beyond  our 
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J   It  *  an  epic  experience  that 
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talking  about. 

i  call  1(800)  969  -GAME 


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Am  then  tic  nuts  teal  score  a  na  sou  *  id  effects  fn  tm  the  I V  a 
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the  stunning  color  of  space  and  aficrt  worms  comes  aliie 
through  250  color  VOAgrapliics 

All-nea  exciting  ending  to  one  of  the  best  -selling  computer 
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Las  if  point-and-ctick  icon  in  I  a  face 
Rather  than  read  screens  of  text,  uou  can  concentrate 


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BY  GAMERS  FO&GAMERS 

IllLcqiLv    f  VimJu     I  I;.   I         III 

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£1993  Interlay  Production^  Irrc  TM>  ■•  end      mi  I  trimaunl  PiuU 


DOS 


REVIEWS 


sect  your  handiwork. 

Pure  action  mode  is  disappointing 
for  several  reasons.  Foremost  is  the 
slow  response  to  direct  player  input, 
making  runs  frustrating  and  passing 
nearly  impossible.  It's  also  difficult  to  fol- 
low the  ball  while  it's  in  play— a  visual 
nuisance  compounded  by  inadequate 
depth  of  field,  regardless  of  viewing  an- 
gle. As  an  action-oriented  coaching 
simulation,  however,  the  game  scores 
a  huge  success.  Major  selling  points  in- 
clude digitized  sound  effects;  briskly 
paced  action,  with  onscreen  play  call- 
ing and  audibles;  realistic  player  abili- 
ties, injuries,  and  fatigue;  and  excep- 
tionally strong  computer  artificial  intel- 
ligence. Full  statistical  reporting  offers 
in-depth  displays  and  printouts  of 
teams  and  players,  covering  both  indi- 
vidual games  and  entire  seasons. 

If  you're  after  whiz-bang  arcade 
thrills,  you'll  want  to  look  elsewhere. 
However,  gridiron  strategists  with  an 
eye  and  ear  for  dynamic  action  will 
find  pulse-pounding  excitement  in  NFL 
Coaches  Club  Football. 

SCOTT  A.  MAY 


MicroProse 

(800)  879-PLAY 

$44.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  448 


1000  OF  THE  WORLD'S 

GREATEST  SOUND 
EFFECTS 

What  a  deal!  For  $49.95,  you  get  a  CD- 
ROM  with  1000  royalty-free  sound  ef- 
fects, a  sound  finder  utility  that  lets  you 
attach  the  sound  effects  to  your  Win- 
dows system  events,  and  a  sound  edi- 
tor that  also  plays  audio  CDs  and  MIDI 
files. 

With  1000  different  sounds,  you  cer- 
tainly get  a  lot  of  variety.  You'll  find  one 
elephant  sound,  five  sets  of  sneezes 
(slow  sneezes,  small  sneezes,  large 
sneezes,  rapid-fire  sneezes,  and  fe- 
male sneezes),  seven  bowling  sounds 
(a  gutter  ball,  a  strike,  a  ball  returning, 
and  so  on),  eight  screams  (mostly  Fay 
Wray-type  screams),  21  science-fiction 
sounds,  23  horror  sounds,  29  drum 
sounds,  43  sets  of  footsteps  (great  for 
radio  dramas),  and  99  short  music 
clips  (called  IDs,  they  seem  to  be  de- 
signed for  television  and  radio  news 
shows).  Beavis  and  Butthead  fans  will 
be  drawn  to  the  small  selection  of  bod- 
ily noises,  as  well  as  the  nine  moans 
that  are  reminiscent  of  Meg  Ryan's  fa- 
mous delicatessen  scene  in  When  Har- 
ry Met  Sally.  All   1000  sounds  are 

126        COMPUTE    MARCH  1994 


stored  in  both  8-bit  and  16-bit  WAV 
file  formats. 

You  can  use  the  sound  finder  utility 
to  select  the  sounds  by  category  (Ambi- 
ence, Animals,  Around  the  House,  At 
Work,  and  so  on)  and  list  your  select- 
ed sounds  by  description  (Applause 
80/100  people,  Applause-longer  80/ 
100  people,  Arc  welding  torch  being 
lit,  Arcade  game  #1,  and  so  on).  The 
program  also  lets  you  play  sounds  ran- 
domly, browse  through  categories, 
search  by  keyword,  attach  sounds  to 
Windows  system  events,  and  copy 
sounds  to  your  hard  drive. 

The  sound  editor  is  actually  Sound 
Impressions'  Multimedia  Sound  Studio, 
an  excellent  multifunction  sound  utility. 
It  looks  like  a  four-rack  component  ste- 
reo system  and  includes  a  WAV  editor, 
an  audio  CD  player,  a  MIDI  file  player, 
and  an  audio  mixer.  The  WAV  editor  is 
more  than  sufficient  to  let  you  manipu- 
late the  CD-ROM's  sounds  or  make 
your  own  sonic  creations. 

Though  most  of  the  sound  effects  in 
1000  of  the  World's  Greatest  Sound  Ef- 
fects are  too  specific  for  everyday  use, 
it's  still  the  world's  greatest  bargain  in 
PC  sound  effects. 

DAVID  ENGLISH 


Interactive  Publishing 

(914)426-0400 

$49.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  449 


MICROSOFT  ARCADE 

I've  always  been  a  sucker  for  a  good  ar- 
cade game.  Why  think  when  you  can 
blast?  Maybe  it's  because  some  of  my 
first  digital  game  experiences  were 
bashing  centipedes  and  blasting 
tanks  on  my  old  Atari  2600.  When  I 
heard  that  Microsoft  had  purchased 
the  rights  to  many  of  these  old  Atari 
games,  I  couldn't  wait  to  see  the  re- 
sults. I  wasn't  disappointed. 

Microsoft  Arcade  brings  to  Windows 
five  classic  Atari  games.  Included  are 
Missile  Command,  where  you  must 
save  civilization  from  an  array  of  bomb- 
ers, missiles,  satellites,  and  smart 
bombs;  Tempest,  where  you  defend 
yourself  from  enemy  aliens  on  a  geomet- 
ric playing  field;  Asteroids,  where  you 
blast  your  way  through  a  field  of 
space  debris  and  vaporize  the  alien 
saucers;  Centipede,  where  you  must 
exterminate  the  invading  centipedes, 
jumping  spiders,  mushroom-dropping 
fleas,  and  poisonous  scorpions  from 
the  mushroom  patch;  and  Battlezone, 
where  you  engage  in  wire-frame  tank- 
to-tank  combat. 

Microsoft  appears  to  have  gone  to 
great  lengths  to  preserve  the  original 
look  and  feel  of  the  coin-op  originals. 


Most  noticeable  are  the  early  1980s- 
style  graphics  found  in  Asteroids  and 
Battlezone.  There's  a  lot  of  historical  ref- 
erence material  built  into  these  five 
games.  Microsoft  includes,  as  part  of 
each  game's  help  file,  a  brief  history  of 
how  the  game  was  created  and  of  the 
programmers  and  designers  behind 
each  project.  The  help  files  also  serve 
as  the  manual  for  Microsoft  Arcade 


Centipede  is  only  one  of  the  classic  games 
recreated  in  Microsoft  Arcade. 


and  include  information  on  playing 
each  game,  as  well  as  scoring  hints 
and  winning  play  strategies. 

You  can  choose  whether  each 
game  is  played  in  a  window  or  at  full- 
screen size.  Microsoft  also  added  the 
ability  to  customize  nearly  every  fea- 
ture of  each  game,  including  the  num- 
ber of  lives  available  and  the  points  re- 
quired for  earning  bonuses. 

In  these  days  of  virtual  this  and  mul- 
timedia that,  it's  amazing  how  well  the 
games  included  with  Microsoft  Arcade 
hold  up.  And  there's  a  big  improve- 
ment over  the  original  arcade  ma- 
chines— you  can  play  as  long  as  you 
want  without  a  pocket  full  of  quarters! 

BOB  ELLER 

Microsoft 
(800)  426-9400 
$39.95 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  450  D 


COMING 
NEXT  MONTH: 

The  Future 
of  PC  Games 


With  COMPUTE'S  SharePak,  You'll 


SHARE  IN  THE  SAVINGS! 


SAVE  TIME 

We  carefully  select  and  test  all  programs  for  you 

SAVE  MONEY 

Each  disk  includes  two  to  five  programs  for  one  low  price 

SAVE  KEYSTROKES 

Our  free  DOS  shell  lets  you  bypass  the  DOS  command  line 


NOW  ON  HIGH 
DENSITY  DISKS: 

OVER  A 

MEGABYTE  OF 

SAVINGS! 


NeoPaint  is  the  ultimate  in 
painting  and  image  editing. 


r»*  Mart  JmdM  PwJ'ilLtH 

- .— =         sat  i 


The  Aurora  Editor  gets  high 
marks  for  beauty  and  power. 


NeoPaint  2.2 

NeoPaint  is  the  complete  image-editing  and  paint  program  for  DOS!  Ne- 
oPaint reads  and  writes  PCX,  GIF,  and  TIF  file  formats  in  resolutions  of 
up  to  1024  x  768.  It  includes  drivers  for  over  300  printers.  This  program 
has  all  the  tools  of  packages  costing  hundreds  of  dollars. 

The  Aurora  Editor  1.12 

The  Aurora  Editor  is  a  powerful  and  beautiful  new  text  editor  with  a  su- 
perb windowing  environment.  The  seemingly  endless  list  of  features  in- 
cludes full  mouse  support,  1GB  paged  virtual  memory,  macro  language, 
text  folding,  binary  edit,  16K  line  length,  bookmarks,  and  much  more! 

PCXDUMP  8.1 

PCXDUMP  is  a  great  memory-resident  screen  capture  program  that 
saves  the  images  on  your  monitor  to  a  PCX  image  file.  The  program  is 
configurable  and  allows  hot  keys  and  timed  screen  grabs 


COMPUTE'S  SharePak  disk  contains  the  best 
of  shareware — handpicked  and  tested  by  our  staff— to 
complement  this  month's  focus.  You'll  sample  entertainment, 
learning,  and  home  office  software  at  a  great  savings.  Each 
SharePak  disk  includes  two  to  five  programs  plus  complete 
documentation  for  one  low  price: 

$5.95  for  5!/4-inch  disk 
$6.95  for  31/2-inch  disk 

For  even  more  savings, 
Subscribe  to  SharePak  and  receive 
COMPUTE'S  SuperShell  FREE! 

For  a  limited  time,  you  can  subscribe  to  COMPUTE'S 
SharePak  and  save  more  than  37%  off  the  regular  cost 
of  the  disks— plus  get  COMPUTE'S  SuperShell  FREE. 
With  a  one-year  paid  subscription,  you'll  get 

•  A  new  31/2-  or  SlA-inch  disk  delivered  to  your  home 
every  month 

•  Savings  of  over  37%  off  the  regular  disk  prices 

•  Advance  notices  of  COMPUTE  special  offers 

•  COMPUTE'S  SuperShell  at  no  additional  cost! 

Subscribe  for  a  year  at  the  special  rates  of  $59.95  for 
51/4-inch  disks  and  $64.95  for  31/2-inch  disks— and  get 
COMPUTE'S  SuperShell  FREE! 

COMPUTE'S  SuperShell  requires  DOS  3.0  or  higher. 

Disks  available  only  for  IBM  PC  and  compatibles.  Offer  good  while  supplies  last. 


For  Single  Disks 

Please  Indicate  how  many  disks  of  each  format  you  would  like. 

.  5%-inch  at  $5.95 

3'/24nch  at  $6.95 


Subtotal 

Sales  Tax  (Residents  of  NC  and  NY,  please  add  appro- 
priate sales  tax  for  your  area.  Canadian  orders,  add  7% 
goods  and  services  tax.) 

Shipping  and  Handling  ($2.00  U.S.  and  Canada,  $3.00  sur- 
face mail,  $5.00  airmail  per  disk) 

Total  Enclosed 


Subscriptions 

I  want  to  save  even  morel  Start  my  one-year  subscription  to  COM- 
PUTE'S SharePak  right  away.  With  my  paid  subscription,  I'll  get  a 
FREE  copy  of  COMPUTE'S  SuperShell  plus  all  the  savings  listed  above. 

Please  indicate  the  disk  size  desired: 

Stt-inch  at  $59.95  per  year 3Vfe-inch  at  $64.95  per  year 

For  delivery  outside  the  U.S.  or  Canada,  add  $1 0,00  for  postage  and  handling. 

Important  Notice:  COMPUTE's  SharePak  is  not  associated  wrth  COMPUTE'S 
PC  Disk.  Please  order  SharePak  separately. 


Name . 


Address  . 


City . 


State/Province  . 


ZIP/Postal  Code_ 


Total  Enclosed  - 


Check  or  Money  Order 


MasterCard 


VISA 


Credit  Card  No. . 


Exp  Date . 


Signature . 


(Required) 


Daytime  Telephone  No. 


Send  your  order  to  COM  PUT  Es  SharePak,  324  West  Wendover  Avenue, 
Suite  200,  Greensboro,  North  Carolina  27408, 

All  orders  must  be  paid  in  U.S.  lunds  by  check  drawn  on  a  U.S.  bank  or  by  money 
order.  MasterCard  or  VISA  accepted  for  orders  over  $20,  This  offer  will  be  lilted  on- 
ly at  the  above  address  and  is  not  made  in  conjunclion  with  any  olher  magazine  or 
disk  subscription  offer.  Please  allow  4-6  weeks  for  delivery  of  single  issues  or  lor 


subscription  to  begin.  Sorry,  bui  telephone  orders  cannot  be  accepted. 


3/94 


COMPUTE'S 

POWER 


'"e'sJ".*/ 


Vs 


nd  every  other 

month— six  times 

a  year — you'll  receive  a  disk  chock-full 

of  great  DOS  and 

Windows  shareware  and  freeware  programs, 

including  powerful 

applications,  sleek  utilities,  and 

eye-popping  graph  i< 


SmUHHT*T»  '<    ^ 


L 


:    □ 


SmartTop  makes  any  Windows  applica- 
tion rise  to  the  top. 


Handy  Directory  uses  color  to  help  you 
keep  track  of  your  files. 


Toddy  is  a  command  line  retriever  that 
helps  you  recycle  DOS  commands. 


With  ZCOP Y,  you  can  copy  groups  of 
files  from  one  place  to  another  fast! 


i 


For  Single  Disks 

YES!  I  want  to  power  up  my  PC.  Send  me  this  issue's 
COMPUTE'S  PC  Disk.  I'll  pay  $9.95  for  each  SV^inch  or 
31/2-inch  disk  plus  $2.00  shipping  and  handling  per  disk. 

Please  indicate  how  many  disks  of  each  format  you'd  like: 
-  51/4-inch  disk(s)  at  $9.95  each 

-  3V2-inch  disk(s)  at  $9.95  each 

-  Subtotal 

—  Sales  Tax  (Residents  of  NC  and  NY,  please  add 
appropriate  sales  tax  for  your  area.  Canadian 
orders,  add  7%  goods  and  services  tax.) 
Shipping  and  Handling  ($2.00  U.S.  and  Canada, 
$3.00  surface  mail,  $5.00  airmail  per  disk) 

—  Total  Enclosed 

Send  your  order  to  COMPUTE'S  PC  Disk 

324  W.  Wendover  Ave.,  Ste.  200 
Greensboro,  NC  27408 

All  orders  must  be  paid  in  U.S.  funds  by  check  drawn  on  a  U.S.  bank  or  by  money  order. 
MasterCard  or  VISA  accepted  for  orders  over  $20,  This  offer  will  be  filled  only  at  the 
above  address  and  is  not  made  in  conjunction  with  any  olher  magazine  or  disk  sub- 
scription offer.  Please  allow  4-6  weeks  for  del  very  ol  single  issues  or  for  subscription  to 
begin.  Sorry,  but  telephone  orders  cannot  be  accepted. 
Disks  available  only  for  IBM  PC  and  compatible  computers. 
Offer  good  while  supplies  last. 


For  Subscriptions 

YES!  I  want  to  save  even  more!  Start  my  one-year  maga- 
zine and  disk  subscription  to  COMPUTE  and  COMPUTE'S 
PC  Disk  right  away. 

51/4-inch  $49.95  per  year 
-     3J/2-inch  $49.95  per  year 
For  delivery  outside  the  U.S.  or  Canada,  add  $10.00  for  postage 
and  handling. 


Name 

Address 

City  — _ 
State/Province  - 
ZiP/Postal  Code  - 
Total  Enclosed 

— Check  or  Money  Order 
Credit  Card  No. 
Expiration  Date 
Signature 


MasterCard 


VISA 


Daytime  Telephone  No. 


Send  youf  order  to  COMPUTED  PC  Disk 
P.O.  Box  3244 
Harlan,  IA  51539-2424 


I 
I 

I 

! 
1 
1 
1 
I 
I 
I 

— I 

^^        I 

•  •! 


Advertisers'  Index 


Reader  Service  Number/Advertiser 


Page       Reader  Service  Number/Advertiser 


Page       Reader  Service  Number/Advertiser 


Page 


152 
124 
244 
108 
197 

157 
233 


173 

121 

149 
248 
209 
150 
240 


225 
204 

125 
144 
161 
145 
131 
208 


162 
230 
134 
115 
110 
113 

254 
139 
200 

232 
231 
243 

178 


7th  Level 79  151 

Abacus 29  105 

Access  Software 60,61  165 

Adituslnc 85  123 

AldeLabs 134  246 

America  OnLine   49  117 

AMTEX  Software  Corporation    103  118 

Amies  Answers 132  158 

At-Home  Professions 138  154 

Best  Personalized  Books 138  136 

Blue  Valley  Software 132  192 

B.R.R0MS    130  249 

Cape  Cod  Connection    140  111 

Chips  &  Bits 128  146 

Colorado  Spectrum    16  191 

Compaq 6,7  181 

CompSult 140 

Comptons  NewMedia   77 

Computer  Book  Club 113 

Computer  Business  Services 139  141 

Computer  Friends    132  114 

Computer  Gallery 140  160 

Crazy  Bobs 133  156 

Creative  Labs 3  168 

Cyberdreams 111  221 

Delphi  Internet  Services 39  235 

DemoSource 137  107 

DemoSource    130  143 

Disk-Count  Software 123  207 

Dr.  T's  Music  Software    97  224 

D&K  Enterprises,  Inc 139  135 

Empire  Software    101  169 

Fairbrothers 140  138 

Fantazia  Concepts,  Inc 130  122 

Free  Spirit  Software    119  212 

GEnie    9,11,12,13 

Humonoous  Entertainment 89  120 

IBM    . 5  116 

Imagination  Network 83  129 

Interactive  Products,  Inc 130 

Interplay    127  109 

Intuit 41  142 

ISL  Software  Corporation    132  126 

Jackson  Marking  Products  Co.  Inc 140  210 

Keystone  Learning  Systems 131  201 

Kid  Secure  of  America 139  203 

LACE 135  130 


Lance  Haffner  Games 137 

Lawrence  Research  Group,  Inc 120 

LivingSott    43 

Logitech 31 

Mallard  Soltware 67 

Mallard  Software 62 

Masque  Publishing    14 

Maxis    45 

Maxmedia  Distributing,  Inc 134 

Media  Graphics  Int'l  Inc 132 

MediaVision 72 

Megatech 107 

MicroProse 69 

Microtech    35 

Needham's  Electronics,  Inc 133 

New  World  Computing 121 

No-Frills  Software    140 

NRI/McGraw  Hill 33i,65 

Ocean  of  America 55,105 

Odyssey  OnLine    136 

Opcode  Interactive    115 

Origin    93 

Pacific  Micro 130 

Parsons  Technology 25 

PC  Enterprises 140 

Pendragon  Software  Library 136 

Penthouse  Modem 114 

Phoenix  Technologies 19 

Pixel  Perfect    117 

Profit  Group,  The 133 

Profit  Group,  The 131 

Prometheus    27 

Ramco  Computer  Supplies 136 

ReadySoft  Inc 59 

SafeSoft  Systems  Inc 140 

School  of  PC  Repair 140 

Serif  PagePfus 15 

SeXXy  Software 136 

Sierra  OnLine/Dynamix BC 

Sign  Up 138 

Smart  Luck  Software 136 

SMC/Software  of  the  Month  Club 136 

SoffShoppe 136 

Software  Support  International 134 

Spectrum  Holobyfe IFC.1 

Star  Micronics 23 

Starware  Publishing 135 


179  Subtogic    50,51 

164    Telecentral  CD-ROM  Software 137 

202    Thinking  Software    139 

147    Thrustmaster 135 

112    U.S.  Robolics    81 

180  Velocity  Development  Corp IBC 

106    Virgin  Games 109 

195    Virgin  Games 36,37 

172    Wedgwood  Rental    132 

WOL/Schoof  of  Computer  Training 17 

Classifieds 142,143 

Product  Mart    133,134,135,136,137,138,139,140 

Windows  Mart    130,131,132 

104    COMPUTE  Books 116 


COMPUTE  PC  Power  Disk    

COMPUTE  Treasur  Hunt 

57 

46,47,48 

CREDITS 

Cover:  Mark  Wagoner;  cover  screen  shot: 
Second  Nature;  page  4:  Mark  Wagoner; 
page  32:  Mark  Wagoner;  page  34:  Mark  Wag- 
oner; page  53:  Ron  Lowery/The  Stock  Mar- 
ket; page  73:  Rob  Schuster;  page  74:  Rob 
Schuster;  page  76:  Rob  Schuster;  page  78: 
Rob  Schuster;   page  80:   Rob  Schuster; 
page  82:  Rob  Schuster;  page  84:  Rob  Schust- 
er; page  86:  Mark  Wagoner;  page  90:  Mark 
Wagoner;  page  94:  Mark  Wagoner 

IMPORTANT  NOTICE 

FOR 

COMPUTE  DISK 

SUBSCRIBERS 

COMPUTE  offers  two  different  disk  products  for 
PC  readers:  the  SharePak  disk  and  PC  Disk. 
SharePak  is  monthly  and  has  a  subscription 
price  of  $59.95  for  51  /4-inch  disks  and  $64.95  for 
3 ]  /2-inch  disks.  A  subscription  to  SharePak 
does  not  include  a  subscription  to  the  maga- 
zine. PC  Disk  appears  in  odd-numbered 
months  and  has  a  subscription  price  of  $49.95, 
which  includes  a  subscription  to  COMPUTE.  You 
can  subscribe  to  either  disk  or  to  both,  but  a 
subscription  to  one  does  not  include  a  subscrip- 
tion to  the  other. 

MARCH  1994     COMPUTE 


129 


,'  I 


now  TURBOCH  ARGE  your  computer  with  the  finest 

COMMAND  AND  CONTHOL  VOICE  RECOGNITION  SOFTWARE 


VoiceMouse™  VOICE  RECOGNITION  for  Windows  is  (he  perfect  way  to  navigate 
around  all  your  Windows™  applications.  Speeds  workloads  and  reduces  fatigue;  mini- 
mizes mouse-shuffling.  Unlike  other  voice  recognition  software,  this  isn't  a  "light"  ver- 
sion that  limits  usefulness.  VoiceMouse  is  the  prof esxiona/s'  choice  with  the  right  features 
to  operate  hundreds  of  applications  with  no  limit  to  vocabulary  size.  Regardless  of  your 
experience  with  voice  recognition,  VoiceMouse  stands  as  your  #1  choice.  Here's  why: 

STATE  OF  THE  ART  RUSSIAN  TECHNOLOGY 

The  hean  of  VoiceMouse  contains  the  most  sophisticated  voice  recognition  engine  (based 
upon  advanced  mathematical  algorithms)  that  exceeds  the  power  of  others  costing  SlOOO's 
more.  VoiceMouse  provides  exceptional  recognition  reliability  with  over  98%  accuracy  and 
minimal  subsiitution  errors,  regardless  of  normal  background  noise 

USER  INTERFACE  WITH  K.I.S,S.  SIMPLICITY 

VoiceMouse  constantly  monitors  your  current  active  Windows  application  with  all  the  default 
icon  commands  and  subsets.  All  you  need  to  do  is  I  rain  each  word  once  (with  one  additional 
verification  pass)  from  the  program's  menu,  then  save  to  your  filename  Regardless  of  the 
multi-tasking  applications  you  use,  VoiceMouse  is  ready  to  expand  and  customize  when 
needed,  where  needed. 

OPERATES  WITH  ALL  POPULAR  8,  12,  AND  16  BIT  SOUND  CARDS! 

No  need  to  upgrade  to  a  16  bit  card  to  get  the  best  voice  recognition  available,  VoiceMouse 
was  designed  to  work  with  all,  including:  Creative  Labs  Sound  Blaster™  (all  models),  Media 
Vision  Tnunderdcard™  &  Pro  Audio  Spectrum™,  Adlib  Gold™,  Logitech  Soundman^,  Co- 
vox  Voice  Master*  &  Sound  Master0"  II,  Microsoft  sound  system™,  National  Semiconductor 
TyIN  2000™,  and  all  others  with  8/12/16  bit  PCM  A/D  input  with  DMA  channels. 

VoiceMouse  requires  a  386  or  faster  processor  and  an  appropriate  sound  card  with  micro- 
phone. Product  is  packaged  with  manual  and  diskette  (1  44  MB  3.5") 

VoiueMouse  is  not  available  in  \tonx!  Order  direct  for  best  service  anil  support. 

ONLY  §19.95  shipping  included 

BONUS:  Mention  this  ad  with  your  order,  and  receive  a  durable  microphone 
headset  at  no  additional  charge! 

ORDER  HOTLINE:  Call  (503)  341-4964  Monday-Friday  8  AM  to  5  PM  Pacific  Time. 
VlSA/MasterCard/American  Express  phone  or  FAX  orders  welcome  NO  CODS.  Payment  by 
personal  check  subject  to  2  week  shipping  delay  Free  shipping  within  USA  and  Canada.  Add 
$8  for  next-day  deliveries,  or  for  shipments  overseas 

39  DA  Y  MONEY  BA  CK  GUARANTEE  IF  NOT  COMPLETE/.  Y  SA  T/SF/ED. 

CALL  ,  WRITE,  or  FAX  IS  FOR  FREE  PRODUCT  CATALOG 

Interactive  Products,  Inc. 

1600  Valley  River  Dr.,  Suite  170,  Eugene,  Oregon  97401  U.S.A. 

Tel:  (503)  341-4964  •  FAX:  (503)  341-4965 


Read  Macintosh  files  on  your  PC. 


Mac-ln-DOS  allows  Windows  or  DOS-based  PCs  to  read,  write  and  format 
Macintosh  diskettes.  To  read  Macintosh  files,  start  Mac-ln-DOS,  insert  a 
Macintosh  diskette  and  select  file(s)  to  be  transferred  to  your  hard  disk. 
Macintosh  files  can  be  transferred  in  either  plain  text  or  native  (binary) 
format.  The  latter  is  used  by  programs  that  read  and  save  files  in  native 
Macintosh  format  such  as  Microsoft  Excel,  Microsoft  Word,  Lotus  l  -2-3, 
PageMaker  and  others.  Mac-ln-DOS  effortlessly  handles  cross-platform 
formats  such  as  EPS  and  TIFF.  Besides  a  PC  with  a  3-1/2"  diskette  drive 
and  a  SuperDrive-equipped  Macintosh,  no  special  hardware  is  required. 

Mac-ln-DOS  1 .2  (DOS) 299.95 

Mac-ln-DOS  2.0  (Windows) 5129.95 

"[Mac-ln-DOS]  could  not  be  easier.  Even  this  software-jaded  writer 
felt  a  little  thrill. "  -  The  New  York  Times 
"I  give  [Mac-ln-DOS]  high  grades  because  it  is  so  easy  to  set  up 
and  use.  *  -  Government  Computer  News 

Pacific  Micro    20 1  San  Antonio  Circle  #C250    Mountain  View 
CA  94040    800.628.3475    415.948.6200    4 1 5.948.6296  fax 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  139 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  156 


They'll  never 
know  you're 
home  based! 


Appearance. 


Reality. 

Introducing  SuiteTalker,  our  revolutionary  mini 
voicemail  system  for  MS-Windows.  Designed 
just  forsma]]  and  home-based  offices,  our  soft- 
ware accepts  mailorders,  sends  faxes  or  records 
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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  130 


SeXXy  Software 

SeXXv  DISKS" 


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SIERRA  $10  SKOALS 


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iil 


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IRON  HELIX-$57.00 


Prepare  yourself  for  the  most  stun- 
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Author  Teacher's  Trouble $21. GO 

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Carmen  Sandiego  (Deluxe)  ..  $21.00 

Day  ol  the  Tentacle $39  00 

Dinosaur  Adventure $27.00 

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Family  Choice  $15.00 


Many  additional  titles  in  steefc.  Call 
or  write  for  free  catalog. 


Famdy  Doctor  $17.00 

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Journeyman  Project $45.00 

Just  Grandma  &  Me $33.00 

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Stellar  7  (Space  Settle) $15.00 

Tortise  &  the  Hare $33.00 

Total  Baseball $19.00 

Ultima  Underwork  I  &  2 $54.00 

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SA03  Reeds  -  Clarinet,  Oboe,  Saxophone.  Bassoon,  etc 
SA04  Strings  -  Violin,  Viola,  Cello,  Orch  Hits,  etc. 
SA05  Guitars  -  Acoustic,  Electric,  Lead.  Jazz,  etc. 
SA06  Pianos  -  Pianos,  Electric  Piano,  Honky-Tonk,  etc. 
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SA14  Pipes  -  Flute,  Piccolo.  Recorder,  Whistle,  etc.. 
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SA1 8  Guitar  Chords  -  Major,  Minor,  Min7th  7th,  etc. 


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SA32  Organ2  Chcrds    Sounds  of  the  Cathedral  Organ 
SA33  Voice  Organ  -  Unique  Voice  +  Elec  Organ  chrds 
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140 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  231 


NEWS  &  NOTES 


continued  from  page  144 

cinating  world  of  ponds  and 
freshwater  ecosystems.  Trav- 
el the  world  as  a  member  of 
the  World  Biological  Council 
to  observe,  study,  and  pro- 
tect more  than  100  animals 
from  six  continents.  Your  mis- 
sion is  to  find  and  classify  dif- 
ferent forms  of  wildlife  that 
live  in  and  around  fresh  wa- 
ter. You'll  be  called  upon  to 
solve  environmental  emergen- 
cies and  help  creatures  sur- 
vive in  their  natural  habitats. 
Younger  children  can  exer- 
cise their  creativity  at  the  Bio- 
logical Center,  where  they 
can  create  their  own  life 
forms  with  unpredictable  and 
highly  amusing  results.  Sug- 
gested retail  price  is  $59.95. 
Contact  NIAD,  85  River  Rock 
Drive,  Suite  200,  Buffalo,  New 
York  14207;  (905)  470-0868, 
(905)  513-8179  (fax). 

Creating  Your  Own  BBSs 

Businesses  and  individuals  in- 
terested in  starting  their  own 
bulletin  board  systems 
should  take  a  look  at  what  Ga- 
lacticomm  has  to  offer.  The 
company's  newest  release, 
version  6.1  of  The  Major  BBS, 
provides  full  support  for  non- 
intelligent,  multiport  serial 
cards  such  as  Digicards.  It  al- 
so includes  a  new  Quick 
Start  Booklet  to  introduce  nov- 
ice system  operators  to  the  ba- 
sics of  running  their  first  BBS. 
The  add-on  option  called 
RIPscrip  lets  you  create  daz- 
zling online  background  graph- 
ics and  mouse-driven  menus. 
Contact  Galacticomm,  4101 
Southwest  47  th  Avenue, 
Suite  101.  Ft.  Lauderdale,  Flor- 
ida 33314;  (800)  328-1128, 
(305)  583-7846  (fax),  (305) 
583-7808  (BBS). 

Compton's  Receives  Patent 

Compton's  NewMedia,  the 
well-known  publisher,  develop- 
er, and  distributor  of  multime- 
dia titles,  was  granted  a  U.S. 
patent  for  its  "plurality  of  en- 


try" multimedia  search  sys- 
tem. The  system  is  the  one 
Compton's  originally  incorpo- 
rated into  its  NewMedia  Ency- 
clopedia in  1989.  Compton's 
says  it  wants  to  continue  to  fos- 
ter the  growth  of  this  industry 
and  will  license  to  developers 
the  use  of  its  multimedia  inven- 
tion, as  defined  in  the  patent. 
The  tiered  licensing  program 
will  give  developers  several  op- 
tions, including  entering  into  a 
strategic  joint  venture  relation- 
ship with  Compton's,  entering 
into  a  distribution  arrange- 
ment with  Compton's  Affiliat- 
ed Label  Program,  develop- 
ing a  product  using  its  Smar- 
Trieve  indexing  technology, 
or  coming  into  compliance 
with  a  royalty  system. 

IQ  Test 

Want  to  know  your  IQ — with- 
out feeling  the  pressure  of  a 
structured  test  and  without  hav- 
ing to  wait  forever  for  the  re- 
sults? High-Q  from  Lifestyle 
Software  Group  sends  you  on 
an  intellectual  introspective 
journey  through  more  than 
two  hours  of  fascinating  quiz- 
zes and  questions,  while  keep- 
ing score  as  you  progress.  As 
you  play,  you  learn.  And 
when  it's  all  over,  your  final 
score  is  correlated  with  the 
standard  Wechsler  Scale  and 
Raven's  Progressive  Matrices 
IQ  tests,  showing  your  proba- 
ble IQ  range.  To  enhance 
your  test-taking  experience, 
the  program  is  filled  with 
graphics,  music,  and  sound  ef- 
fects. It's  fun!  Suggested  re- 
tail price  is  $49.95.  Contact 
Lifestyle  Software  Group,  63 
Orange  Street,  St.  Augustine, 
Florida  32084;  (904)  825- 
0220,  (904)  825-0223  (fax). 

Welcome  to  the  Freak  Show 

Mac  users  get  the  first  look  at 
Voyager's  newly  released 
Freak  Show  CD-ROM,  creat- 
ed by  the  enigmatic  San  Fran- 
cisco band,  The  Residents, 
whose  own  identities  remain 


unknown  after  23  years. 
Freak  Show,  based  on  The 
Residents'  1990  album  and 
comic  book  of  the  same 
name,  is  illustrated  in  3-D  by 
award-winning  computer 
graphics  artist  Jim  Ludtke. 
The  user  interface  is  the  freak 
show  itself,  an  elaborately  de- 
signed world  under  a  big  top 
with  backstage  trailers  where 
freak  show  "freaks"  live.  You 
enter  through  the  main  tent, 
summon  these  people  onto 
their  individual  stages  for  per- 
sonal performances,  and  ex- 
plore their  trailers  and  sur- 
roundings   to    learn    more 


about  them  and  their  lives.  An- 
other weird  addition  to  The 
Residents'  lengthy  repertoire, 
this  CD-ROM  will  set  a  prece- 
dent for  other  musicians  want- 
ing to  take  their  MTV  experi- 
ences a  step  further.  A  Win- 
dows version  of  Freak  Show 
is  planned  for  late  1994.  Con- 
tact Voyager,  578  Broadway, 
Suite  406,  New  York,  New 
York  10012;  (800)  446-2001, 
(914)591-6481  (fax). 

Companies  or  public  relations 
firms  with  items  of  interest  suit- 
able for  News  &  Notes 
should  send  information 
along  with  a  color  slide  or  col- 
or transparency  to  News  & 
Notes,  Attention:  Jill  Champi- 
on Booth,  COMPUTE,  324 
West  Wendover  Avenue, 
Suite  200,  Greensboro,  North 
Carolina  27408.  U 


DX  to  DX2,  the 
secret  lives  of  Freaks 
and  freshwater 
species,  Comptons 
multimedia 
patent  and  your 
IQ-PDQ 


MARCH  1994     COMPUTE         141 


BATTERIES 


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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  322 


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TV  equipment    Consul  I  locdl  cable  operate 


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Free  Catalog  1-800-542-9425 
Information  1-708- 540- 1106 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  323 


•Jerrold5  •  Oak 

•Zenith  •  Hamline 

•  Tocom  •  Pioneer 

•  Scientific  Atlanta 

EXCELLENT  PRICES! 

1-800-826-7623 


3584  Kennebec,  Eagan,  MN  55122 

30  DAY  TRIAL  •  1  YR.  WARRANTY 


VISA    MC    AMEX     DfSX     COD 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  318 


FREE  CATALOG 


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•  LOW  PRICES  •  DEALER  PRICES  • 


Ace  Products 

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Circle  Reader  Service  Number  321 


CD-ROM 


SHAREWARE 
&  CD's  for  IBM 

Same  Price  for  3.5"  or  5.25" 

Shipping  &  Handling:  $2/order 

VISA  /  MASTERCARD  /  Check  /  M.O. 

REGULAR  ITEMS  $1.50 

F-PROTECT   SUPERB  Virus  scanninrj/cleanino 
SCAN  McAfee's  Latest  Virus  scanner. 

We  will  «hip  mo*t  recent  veraion  available! 

EXECUTIONER-KILOBLAST-NEOPAINT-OVERKILL 

ANCIENTS-SOLAR  WlNDJvlEGATRON-MAHJONGG 

NEVERLOCK  -MAJOR  STRYKER -WOLF3D 

BIG  ITEMS  $2  on  DSHD  only! 

MONSTER  BASH    Catacomb  Abyss    GATE  WORLD 

Z0NE66  (386  only)  DARE  to  DREAM(Windows) 

KENSLAB  (386  only)  DUKE  NUKEM  II  (386,  VGA) 

BLAKE  STONE  1  (VGA,.  DOS  6/6,  like  WOl_F3D!) 

HALLOWEEN  HARRY  -  By  Apoaee  (386(VGA) 

ANDROID  Epic's  Pinball  Sensation!  (386,  VGA) 

CD's    AT  GREAT  PRICES  ! 

A  few  of  HUNDREDS  of  titles  available 
JUST  GAMES  $15  HOUSE  OF  GAMES  $15 

Swimware  1993  $20  NightOwl  10<or  9)  $27{$22! 
GAMES  1993  $20  SUPER  GAMES  FOR  DOS  $12 
SUPER  GAMES  FOR  WINDOWS  (I  or  II)  $12 

HOLY  BIBLE  and  Christian  Shareware  $17 

US  Alias  w/Autornap  $22  CD-ROM  Caddies  2/$  1  0 
Shareware  Explorer  (4  cd'sl  $40        US  History  $24 

We  have  over  BO  Adult  Titles  Available! 

FREE  CATALOG  ! 

ComPro  Software 

P.O.  BOX  4426 

Star  City,  WV    26504 

1-800-PC-DISCS 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  327 


COMPUTER  REPAIR 


At  rHORlZED  COMPUTER  REPAIRS:  C64/I2K, 
1541/1571,  SX64,  I2XD  &  Amiga.  Selling  DTK  comp 
computers.  Quick  seirvice-30  day  warranty 
MOM  &  POPs  Compiler  Shop.  114  N.  Iftih. 
Bethany.  MO  64424    (K16)  425-4400 


FOREIGN  LANGUAGE 


36  Foreign  Languages  for  your  PC 


EXAqviKa      PyccKHH       rroy 

Hundreds  of  Foreign  Typefaces  for  DOS  &  Windows  applications. 


Diplomat  Software 

'^33  Bramble  Lane  *  Laguna  Hills,  CA  92653 
Phone  (714)  448-0796 
FAX  (714)  448-0895 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  337 


MARKETING 


EVTEK 

Evolved  Tc-chnoloyies  represents  proprietary  computer  mft- 

ware/ii  aril  ware  solutions  to  ihe  scientific,  business  and  in 
(Uisirial  community  of  the  North  Bast.  60^-859-8333 


142 


MISCELLANEOUS 


BIOSTATIST1C1AN.  $34,000.00  per  year.  Immediate 
opening  within  a  firm  located  in  Memphis,  Tennessee. 
Will  apply  statistieal  methodology  to  analyze  large  da- 
la  files;  perform  power  analyses  for  medieal  ehart  re- 
view and  profile  analyses  to  identify  patterns;  develop 
and  conduct  research  projects  from  the  data,  and  edu- 
cate the  hospitals  with  the  findings.  The  computer- 
based  work  will  involve  programming  in  SAS,  STATA 
and  C,  and  involve  the  provision  of  Statistics  instruc- 
tion and  Statistical  support  to  health  professionals  with- 
in client  institutions.  Must  have  an  advanced  education 
in  Applied  Statistics  (ABD  minimum),  which  must 
have  included  at  least  two  semester's  of  graduate  level 
exposure  to  the  analysis  of  large  data  files;  one  semes- 
ter of  experience  in  the  analysis  of  medical  data;  and 
two  years  of  programming  experience  in  SAS.  Because 
it  also  involves  instruction  of  Statistics  to  client  employ- 
ees, must  also  have  at  least  one  year  of  full  or  part- 
time  teaching  experience.  Send  resume  to  Mike 
Daniel,  Job  Service  Program  &  Technical  Support,  TEN- 
NESSEE DEPT  OF  EMPLOYMENT  SECURITY.  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee  37245-1200,  Ref.  Job  Order  No. 
TN 1402994.  EOE 


SOFTWARE 


SKELETON  KEY 

FITS  MOST  LOCKS 

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purposes  [inly!    Satisfaction  (jiiaraiHeed  or 

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To  get  (his  exciting  device.  Send  Now  ONLY  $8.95  +  S2  $&H  10: 

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POSITION  WANTED 


HOME  TYPISTS, 

PC  users  needed. 

$35,000  potential.  Details. 

Call  (1)  805  962-8000  Ext.  B-30033 


SHAREWARE 


PURE  PROFITS  &  LOTS  OF  FUN! 

Make  thoroughbred  horse  belting  fun  and  profitable! 
Employing   Chaos   Theory,    PC-THOROUGHBRED 
determines  betting  strategies  for  straight  and  exacta 
plays.  For  the  IBM  PC;  laptop  suggested.  Includes 
disk,  manual  and  explanation  of  algorithms  used. 

$49.00  postage  paid,  check  or  MO  to. . . 
Renegade  Software  Company,  610  North  Alma 

School  Road,  Suite  #18,  Chandler,  AZ  85224-3687 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  317 

IBM  &  COMMODORE  SHAREWARE  18  areas 
Education,  Business,  Adult.  .99  per  disk.  Free  cat- 
alog. Robofx  graphic  BBS  4  gigs  on-line  614-871- 
5055.  Personalized  hard  backed  Books  $9.95,  (20) 
different  titles.  H.O.S.  P.O.  Box  282008-CP,  Cols, 
OH  43228  614-863-4484  Visa/MC  accepted 

"*FREE  CATALOG-48  PAGES  2800+  PROGRAMS*** 
IBM  COMPATIBLE  100%  VIRUS  FREE-NO  MINIMUM 

NO  GIMMICKS-ALL  CATEGORIES+  ADULT 
$.99  PER  (5.25)  DD  PH.  TOLL  FREE  1-800-755-6795 

HG  SHAREWARE,  P.O.  BOX  515,  EAGLE  CREEK,  OR  97022 


SOFTWARE 


BUY/SELL  USED  SOFTWARE!  LOWEST  PRICES! 
FREE  LIST.  Specify  64/128,  Amiga  or  IBM.  Centsible 
Software,  PO  Box  930,  St.  Joseph,  MI  49085. 
Phone:  6 1 6-428-9096     BBS :  6 1 6-429-72 1 1 


XXX  *  ADLLT  SOFTWARE  *  XXX 


!  Unbelievable  Pictures  &  Movies  ! 

Outstanding  disk  set  never  before  offered,  all  material  selected 

for  highest  clarity  &  color.  Some  of  the  hottest  images  lor 

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8  disk  set  .  .  .  $35  plus  S&H 


1-800-DDC-PIXS 

AJH'LTS  ONLY      Vi.su.  \1(  ,  Check,  M 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  330 


The  ONLY  Lottery  Systems  With 

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Call  Toil-Free  1  -800-876-G-A-l-L 

(See  Her  Ad  in  Product  Mart.) 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  328 


UNIQUE  SOFTWARE! 


Outstanding  IBM  software  selected 

specially  for  Home  ana  Office  use. 

•  1000's  of  programs  •  ASP  Member  • 

•  Lowest  Prices  Anywhere!  • 

•  Money-Back  Guarantee!  • 

•  FREE  DETAILED  CATALOG  • 


THE  PC  ARCADE 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  329 


10,000  Programs  for  only  'Aj  per  KByte!!! 

100%  virus-free,  top  quality  public  domain,  freeware,  and 
shareware  programs  for  MS-DOS,  Windows,  and  OS/2!!! 
Plus  fonts,  icons,  clip  art,  graphics  (including  adult)!! 
Instead  of  having  to  buy  a  disk  collection  (with  useless 
"fillers"),  you  "pick  and  choose"  the  specific  programs  you 
want!!!  Salisfaction  is  guaranteed* 

Send  $2  for  catalog  (refundable  with  first  order) 

CompuLink  PO  Box  6566  Michigan  City,  IN  46360-6566 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  331 


IBM  SHAREWARE 

Free  catalog  or  $2  for  sample  &  cata- 
log (refundable).  Specify  computer. 
CALOKE  IND  (B),  Box  18477, 
Raytown,  MO  64133 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  338 


BEST  VALUE  -  IBM-APPLE  SHAREWARE  &  PD 

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FOR  CATALOG/DEMO  (SPECIFY  COMPUTER) 

MC/VIS  ACCEPTED.  NEXT  DAY  SHIPPING  AVAILABLE 

CHRISTELLA  ENTERPRISE,  P.O.  BOX  82205 

ROCHESTER,  Ml  48308-2205 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  340 

FREE!  IBM  PD  &  SHAREWARE  DISK  CATALOG 

Low  prices  since  1988!  ASP  Approved  Vendor.  Finlo 
Software,  Dept.  M.  Rt.  2,  Box  44,  Rosebud,  TX  76570 
or  Voice/FAX  (800)859-5040.  VISA/MC  accepted. 


ADULT-ORIENTED  SOFTWARE 

For  IBM  VGA,  Color  Mac,  and  Amiga. 

Check  out  our  huge  collection  of 

X-citing  Adults  Only  Software. 

Free  lists  (You  must  be  over  18). 

CLEARLIGHT  SOFTWARE,  Dept.  CO 

P.O.  Box  1411,  Milwaukee,  Wl  53201 

(414)962-2616 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  341 

IBM  -  COMMODORE  64  &  128  -  AMIGA 
1000's  of  PD/S  hare  ware  programs  on  100's 
of  disks.  Free  listing  or  SI  for  large 
descriptive  catalog  (specify  computer). 
DISKS  O'PLENTY  INC.,  8362  Pines  Blvd., 
Suite  270B,  Pembroke  Pines,  FL  33024 


Closing  date  for  April  classifieds 

is  January  15. 
Call/Fax  your  ad  (516)  757-9562 


SOFTWARE 


HAVE  YOU  WON  THE  LOTTERY? 
DO  YOU  OWN  LOTTO  PICKER™ 
WELL,  WHAT  DID  YOU  EXPECT! 

i;    ■* LOTTO  PICKER  is  your  ticket  to  the 
riches!  LOTTO  PICKER  works  by  discovering 
if   the  hidden  biases  in  every  lottery  game  world- 
wide. Using  this  info  to  your  advantage  Lotto  Picker 
will  tell  you  exactly  which  numbers  to  play  -  no  guess-  work 
involved.  Your  Lotto  Picker  card  will  be  loaded  with  com- 
binations and  number  patterns  most  likely  to  be  selected! 
Plays  all  Pick  3,4,6,7,10,11.  Also  plays  games  based  on  play- 
ing cards  (MS-DOS  only).  FREE  telephone  support  with 
each  purchase.  For  MS-DOS,  Apple  II,  and  C64/128. 
NEW  LOW  PRICE  $29,95  (+$4.55  s/h)  NY  add  tax. 
SATISFACTION  GUARANTEED  OR  YOUR  MONEY  BACK! 
ORDER  TODAY!  1-8WM84-1062  s-code  0644  or  1-718-317-1961 
GE  RIDGE  SERVICES,  INC.,  -  {rD m 3 

848  Rensselaer  Ave.,  Dept.  CP  lim    * 

Staten  Island,  NY  10309  * 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  339 


EDUCATION 


Earn  Degree  at  Home 


•I*  Bujinen  Administration 
♦  Environmental  Studies 
•>  Computer  Science 


Earn  BS/MS/MBA  degree  via 

home  itudy 

Instructional  VIDEOTAPES 

«---    CHADWICK 

UNIVERSITY 


1-800-767-2423 


Uilrinllln  A  Cdlh 


Itfitt 


"Lcominf  net  fan/ted  by  classroom 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  332 


In  Computer  Sciences 


•  In-depth  degree  programs  with  all  courses  home  study. 

•  BS  courses  include  MS€0S,  BASIC,  PASCAL,  C,  Data  File 
Process^.  Data  Structures  &  Operating  systems 

•  MS  courses  include  Software  Engineering,  Artificial  Into  >.•'"  x 
and  much  more. 

For  Iree  irformafc/i  call  1  -800-767-2427 

2101-CC  Magnolia  Ave.  S. « Suite  200  •  Birmingham,  AL  35205 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  334 

Be  a  computer 
repair  expert! 

Home  study.  You  could  earn 
great  money  troubleshooting, 
repairing,  upgrading,  and  in- 
stalling PCs.  Send  or  call  now 
for  free  career  literature. 

800-223-4542 


City— 


-Zip- 


The  School  of  PC  Repair 

6065  Roswell  Rd.,  Dept.  JC680 
Atlanta,  Georgia  30328 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  335 


Learn 
Computers! 

Home  study.  Be- 
come a  personal  com- 
puter expert  at  home 
and  in  business.  Free 
career  literature. 

800-223-4542 


Address_ 
City 


_  State Zip_ 


The  School  of  Computer  Training 

2245  Perimeter  Park 
Dept.  KC680  Atlanta,  Georgia  30341 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  336 


143 


NEWS  &  NOTES 


Jill  Champion  Booth 


Him  cash  into 

electrons,  use  a 

picture  and 

plant  a  tree,  and 

create  perfect 

documents  in  Word 

for  Windows 

or  WordPerfect  lor 

Windows. 


Marvel-ous  Screen  Savers 

Marvel  Comics  fans  can  now 
bring  their  favorite  Super  He- 
roes and  Super  Villains  of  the 
Marvel  universe  straight  to  the 
computer  screen  with  Marvel 
Comics  Screen  Posters,  still- 
image  screen  savers  for  Win- 
dows and  the  Mac.  The  pack- 
age includes  more  than  35 
dynamic  images  from  the  pag- 
es of  the  famous  comics- 
even  historic  comic-book  cov- 
ers from  the  Marvel  vaults 
and  never-before-published 
artwork  from  famous  Marvel 
artists — ready  to  use  as  desk- 
top pictures  and  screen  sav- 
ers. Contact  Berkeley  Sys- 
tems, 2095  Rose  Street, 
Berkeley,  California  94709; 
(510)  540-5535,  (510)  540- 
5115  (fax). 

Paper  or  Plastic? 

To  some,  the  idea  of  a  cash- 
less, checkless  society  in 
which  money  never  passes 
through  hands  harbingers  a 
new  era  of  worldwide  control 
by  Big  Brother.  And  while 
that  thought  should  make  you 
quake,  the  reality  so  far  is 
that  automated  money  man-' 
agement  is  far  more  practical 
than  it  is  foreboding, 

Intuit  and  Microsoft  are  the 
first  to  get  into  the  act.  Last 
fall,  Intuit  announced  a  deal 
with  VISA  that  will  allow  PC 
owners  to  retrieve  bank  ac- 
count information,  move  mon- 
ey between  accounts,  and 
pay  their  bills  electronically.  Mi- 
crosoft announced  a  similar 
deal  with  National  Payment 
Clearinghouse  of  Chicago,  a 
national  automated  bill-pay- 
ing service.  In  addition  to  con- 
venience—such as  having  de- 
tailed information  about  your 
checking  accounts  and  cred- 
it card  purchases  and  balanc- 
es—the big  advantage  will  be 
in  eliminating  all  the  paper- 
work in  money  management. 

But  don't  expect  the  cash- 
less, checkless  method  of  pay- 
ment to  take  off  quickly.  Many 


people  in  this  country  have 
never  touched  a  PC,  much 
less  have  access  to  one  in 
their  homes  or  offices;  the 
wait  could  be  very  long. 

Roots  for  the  Future 

As  a  new  sponsor  of  the  Glob- 
al ReLeaf  Heritage  Program, 
Westlight  (the  stock  photo 
agency  which  was  the  first  to 
use  Kodak's  Photo  CD  Cata- 
log format)  has  initiated  a 
new  "One  Voice,  One  Tree" 
program.  Each  time  a  custom- 
er uses  a  Westlight  image  for 
an  ad,  brochure,  annual  re- 
port, multimedia  disc,  and  so 


forth,  a  contribution  will  be 
made  in  the  client's  name  to 
Global  ReLeaf  to  plant  a  tree 
in  one  of  its  forests, 

Let  Your  PC  Do  the  Dialing 

If  you  happen  to  run  an  office 
that  uses  a  multiline  PBX 
phone  system,  you've  proba- 
bly discovered  that  it  won't 
work  with  your  PC's  autodialer 
software— most  PBX  systems 
aren't  modem  compatible. 
Datalogic's  DigiDial,  however, 
a  wireless  PC-to-PBX  autodi- 
aler, works  with  all  contact 
manager  programs  that  per- 
mit autodialing,  What's  more, 
all  calls  to  a  client  can  be 
stamped  with  the  time  and 
date  by  the  PC  for  billing  pur- 
poses as  well  as  for  checking 


follow-up  status.  With  a  PC- 
based  autodialing  system,  eve- 
ry call  in  your  office  can  be  ac- 
curately tracked  for  billing, 
and  you  won't  have  to  dial  a 
single  digit,  since  the  PC 
does  all  the  work.  Contact 
Datalogic,  3952  44th  Street 
SE,  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan 
49512;  (800)  397-2200,  (616) 
698-3053  (fax). 

Dolch  Makes  One  for  All 

The  plug-and-play  universe  is 
still  expanding.  Dolch  Comput- 
er Systems  announces  the 
535  PIT-VIPER,  a  video  control- 
ler that  supports  virtually  all 
flat-panel  technologies  in  the 
entire  industry.  It  supports  all 
of  the  popular  active  matrix 
'"FT  and  dual-scan  STN  color 
panels  along  with  all  available 
EL  and  Plasma  monochrome 
panels.  Designed  to  be  an 
easy-to-use,  plug-and-play  so- 
lution, the  535  PIT-VIPER  en- 
sures a  high-performance  full- 
screen display  no  matter 
what  software  pane!  is  used. 
And  it  provides  for  full-motion 
video  in  multimedia  applica- 
tions using  any  one  of  the  lead- 
ing video  compression  technol- 
ogies. The  535  PIT-VIPER  sup- 
ports LCD  with  resolutions  up 
to  1280  x  1024.  It  also  sup- 
ports high-resolution  CRT  mon- 
itors in  VGA  and  Super  VGA 
up  to  1024  x  768  x  256  col- 
ors. To  learn  more,  contact 
Dolch,  372  Turquoise  Street, 
Milpitas,  California  95035; 
(408)  957-6575,  (408)  263- 
6305  (fax). 

Freshwater  Denizens 

Unless  you're  about  to  em- 
bark on  a  global  nature  trek, 
there's  no  better  way  to  learn 
about  animals  and  the  environ- 
ment than  Puddles  to  Pondwa- 
ter,  the  first  in  a  planned  soft- 
ware series  from  NIAD  that 
will  focus  on  animals  living  in 
aquatic  environments.  This 
learning  adventure  introduces 
you  (and  the  kids)  to  the  fas- 

continuai  on  page  14  1 


144         COMPUTE     MARCH  1994 


THIS  IS  TOUR  BRAIN, 


THIS  IS  TOUR  BRAIN 
NEUROJACKED  INTO  CYBERNET 


IN  SPECTRE  VR: 


FULL  M0~IGN  VIDEO  FROM  CD-ROH:  THINKOF II 
AN  INTERMEDIATE  SIP  SBWEfN  CYfi£RSPAC£  AND  Uf 
A5  YOU'VE  KNOWN  [T. 


MART  WALLS  ARE  COVERED  WITH  LVE  ACT.O\ 
DEO.  AOD  POOLS  WILL  TRY  TO  TRAP  YOU.  MAYBE 
.,. "  SC;"£R  SHOTS  CAN  HELP  UNTRAP  YOU. 


AMY  0 1 1 F  ^  T 1 0  KK )  G0  m"' |Aa  m  h  WH0LE  0MR  mz  *^  m  ^ F  Y0U  m  "m  m  T0  handle  ^second  pressure  from 

SMART-WEAPON  ENEMIES  THAT  LEARN  YOU^  EVERV  MOVE  HN  STRIKE  FROM  ANY  D1ECTIQN  Wi  THE  CYBERWORLD  HAS  NEVER  IN  SO  MMClY  REAL  BUT  H:  E  S 
HOPE:  AT  LEAST  YOU'LL  HAVE  AN  ARSENAL  THAI  JUST  AS  SMART  AND  POWERFUL  AS  THAT  Of  YOUR  03PCi\EO.  I  H  QUEST'CN:  CAN  vOU  NAVIGATE  THE  MATRIX 


4. 


AS  QUOLY  AS  YOUR  SR^ ' . ;:  C  3B  THE  ST  'MATlON  ON  YOUR  SCREEN1  t 

NEGATIVE  CYBERSPACE.  ^IV    YOU  CAN  EVEN  ALTER  ~HE  LANDSCAPE,  vOUR  OPPONENTS  AND  YOUR  WEAPONS  WITH  VRCHITEC 
SO,  U  INTO  SPECTRE  VR  WITH  ONE  WE  A  NETWORK  OF  UP  TO  EIGHT.  OR  EVEN  MODEM  PLAY  ON  THE  K.  AND  GET  READY  FOR  A  Wl 

CTRONIC  ADRENALINE  RUSH.  SET  BE  FOREWARNED;  REALITY  W,L  NEVER  BE  ^ 


C 


A 


=t  'rOUR  !8K  PC.  MAC  AND  CD-^CM. 


O      C      i      T- 


Circle  Reader  Service  Number  180 


HEY,  YOU  WITH  THE  CPU:  GET  A  CYBERLIFE.  GET  SPECTRE  VR": 


...    ... 


"cc;;p.e"':  \ir  -:T-.;:  :•:•..:■;":■,.;:" 


WAR 
iPLANES> 


YOUR  BELLY  TANK  IS  ON  FIRE. 

YOUR  RADIO  IS  GONE. 

YOUR  AIR  FIELD  IS   1  35  MILES  AWAY. 

GODSPEED. 


Best 
Simulation 
Game  1993 

Game  Piayek  &  PC 
Entertainment 


i^^nAR  THROUGH  FLAK-FILLED  SKIES  IN  THE 
COCKPIT  OF  YOUR  SUPERMARINE  SPITFIRE.  P-5  1 
MUSTANG.   FOCKE-WULFE   1  90.  OR  ONE  OF   1  3 


OTHER  AIRCRAFT  FROM 


THE  INFAMOUS  SECOND 
WORLD  WAR. 


Fly  all  new  air-to- 
ground  missions, 

TAKE  OUT  ENEMY 

bridges,  and 
strafe  armored 
vehicles.  Face  off 
against  the  most 
famous  aces  in  the 
European  Theater. 


Ships  burn  in  the  water.  Oil 
drums  blow  on  the  horizon. 

YOU'RE  FLYING  FOR  THE  BRITISH 

raf  one  day,  the  german 
Luftwaffe,  the  next. 


Aces  Over  Europe^ 

The  latest  in  the  Great  War  Planes9  series. 

AVAILABLE  AT  RETAIL  FOR  IBM  /  COMPATIBLES.  OR  CALL 

1-800-757-7707 

Circle  Reader  Service  Number  129 


Dynamix:* 

^        BiOT  niT  TUP  51PDDA  CdHIf  V 


PART  OF  THE  SIERRA  FAMILY 
*  AND  <&  AR5I  TRADEMARKS  OF,  Ofl  LICENSED  TO. 
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